More To Me Than That
by LoveandEdify
Summary: Sonic and Rainbow Dash. They've got everything in common; the speed, the edge, the loyal-heart and they're awesome friends. But both of them have a deeper appreciation for each other. It isn't romance. But it IS friendship. And THIS magic, is on a deeper scale than they would ever have realized. Can they find the right way to explain how much they mean to each other?
1. Chapter 1: Something Stood Out

More to Me Than That

Chapter 1: Something Stood Out

Equestria. The land of talking anthro horses, magic powered by friendship and (today) a

powerful and stormy night courtesy of Princess Luna; the princess of night. Why so stormy?

Because it was autumn and the queen wanted to display the effects of such a powerful fall wind

and rain to its citizens. She was hoping to show this in particular to a new group of "dual

citizens." These citizens, known as the Mobians, came to Equestria partly because of a good

adventure; but also because their leader, Sonic (a very fast ocean-blue hedgehog) was seeking

for other worlds to help them fight _their_ evil as well. He and his friends (a two-tailed nerdy fox

named Tails, a pink hedgehog named Amy, a beefy muscular red echidna named Knuckles, a

black-and-red hedgehog named Shadow, a white telekinetic hedgehog named Silver, a purple

pyrokinetic cat named Blaze and a small creamish rabbit named Cream) made quick relations

with the Mane 6. A local group of "freedom fighters" composed of nerdy purple Twilight,

party-animal Pinkie, shy but compassionate Fluttershy, fancy and generous Rarity, hard-working

and honest Applejack and the fast and ever "awesome" (as she claimed herself) Rainbow Dash.

Together the two forces of good trounced the chaotic forces of Discord and crystallized him into

stone forever. All was fine and dandy after that; and as a reward for their bravery, Celestia (the

other main ruler and princess of Equestria, as well as princess of the day) offered the Mobian

heroes citizenship in Equestria, meaning that they could stay in Equestria as long as they would

like. After a group vote of 7-1 (Shadow being the only person who voted against the deal), the

group accepted the most gracious offer and that is where they are at now. "Having a little fun

with the weather today Luna?" a voice spoke from behind the night princess. Luna turned to find

Blaze and Celestia standing next to each other smiling warmly at her. Luna quickly turned and

nodded, "Well, I wanted to show our friends down there what a little fall weather could _really_ feel

like down there." she said, walking towards the pair of friends. "You know Celestia, you still

haven't told me when we were going to tell everyone about our big surprise." Blaze said, turning

towards Celestia. The sun princess smiled down at her Mobian friend. "All in due time Blaze. All

in due time." Celestia replied. "All in due time what?!" Luna asked with a slick combination of

confusion and annoyance. She knew that her sister and her new best friend were planning

something for some time now, but could only pick up tidbits of what it could possibly be from

overhearing their conversations. Some of the time it was unintentional and coincidental, other

times she really _did_ sneak up on them to find out what it was; but she could only find out small

intricate pieces of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. All she knew was that it was to take place near the

1-year anniversary of the day when the Mobians first arrived, how something like it never

happened before and how everyone in Equestria was to be invited. Blaze and Celestia knew

about Luna's "snooping" the whole time and both simultaneously nodded, signaling the time was

right to tell her. "Well you see Luna," Celestia said, looking at the anxious look of her sister with

a calm and soothing manner, "one day, I was telling Blaze about the various holidays we have

here in Equestria when she asked me about the Week of Elements. I told her that it was to

commemorate how the Elements of Harmony have and continued to help us." Celestia paused

for a brief moment to let her sister soak up the information and then continued in an eloquent

fashion. "Well, Blaze then told me about an idea that would shake up this years celebration. She

told me about incorporating the beauty of Mobius's elements; such as fire, ice, rock, water, sky

and earth and combine them with _our_ Elements of Harmony for the celebration." Celestia then

turned to Blaze, who looked as if she was expecting _her_ turn to tell her part of it all along. "That's

when, after some brainstorming, we've decided to hire some of the best magicians who are

specialists with _Mobian_ elements and combine both of them into the Week of Elements." Luna,

who seemed calmer after hearing this, had one more question in mind. "And what will _that_

entail?" she asked. Celestia and Blaze simply smiled at Luna. "That will be better understood if

you help us. That way, you can see it all in action." Celestia offered. The three friends nodded at

each other and then went on their way to the Magic Room where they were to start their

planning for the event. Luna had one more question, but this one she decided to keep and ask

internally to herself. " _Hmm… I wonder if all the Mobians are enjoying this day as much as I am?_ "

 _Meanwhile… Up in the sky…_

Rainbow Dash didn't quite feel like flying around and using her powers to kick away the storm

for everybody down on the ground today. Not because she was tired (which she wasn't), neither

was she bored with flying around really fast (which she _never_ was, if anything, it's one of the

many things she takes joy and pride in) but rather because she simply wanted to relax today, as

well as have an excuse to have her new best friend Sonic over to hang out. She stroked her

rainbow colored hair and thought about the bright-blue hedgehog she was about to have over at

her place. Sonic and Rainbow had a lot in common when it came to speed, confidence _and_

loyalty. She was glad to finally have someone in her life who she could keep up with physically

and mentally; but as the months turned into a year, she realized that Sonic wasn't just another

friend. He was a special friend. A _very_ special friend. Although Rainbow knew that people who

were "very special friends" often ended up in the "relationship" category, she felt that that was

not the case. She wasn't necessarily thinking about a romantic relationship with _anyone_ ,

especially Sonic since the two have only known each other for a year. But for her, he was one of

the most important aspects of her life. She deeply appreciated Sonic as a Mobian, a citizen, a

friend, an ally, a fellow speedster amongst other things. But Rainbow's admiration and respect

went deeper for him than Sonic could ever guess. So much so, that even Rainbow herself

couldn't quite figure out the exact words, or analogies or even the slightest picture of how to

describe how she felt, but she knew _what_ she felt. Deep respect and admiration. And more.

She was thinking about what to do with Sonic when she turned and realized, "Oh dang! I forgot

that I'd need to clear up some sky for him to get here." she stammered embarrassed under her

breath as she went out to spread her wings and end the storm.

 _Meanwhile, back in Equestria…_ at a Milkshake Parlor

Sonic slurped on a Rainbow-Swirl smoothie (which was basically a large shake with strawberry,

orange, banana, lime, blueberry and grape smoothie all blended together) while thinking about

the rainbow-anthro-pegasus he teamed up with while battling Discord, a villain whose chaotic

charisma and powers nearly successfully divided all of Equestria, as well as the newfound

MobEstrians (as Pinkie dubbed the new team of good guys) before Sonic and Rainbow found

the strength to look past the issues that would have divided the group and start their friendships

anew again; as well as inspiring the other members to do the same so they can beat Discord once and for all.

Sonic kept thinking about those moments ever since then and maintained a really solid

friendship with Rainbow Dash. But thoughts about what happened still lingered in his head and

while Sonic was glad that the two were such awesome friends, he wondered if he was doing

"awesome" enough for his friend. He always believed that he himself was awesome and also

believed the same about, well, all his friends really. Sonic always knew that there was

something special within Rainbow Dash other than being swift, cocky and loyal. He knew that

those were just parts of it. But although he knew what it was, he just couldn't explain what it

was.

As Sonic continued to slurp his smoothie, he saw the formerly stormy weather finally clear up;

prompting him to step out of the parlor and stare in awe at the big, bright blue sky. "Well Sonic,"

he said to himself, smiling as if he had the whole world as his running track and stretching to

prepare for a run, "looks like the fun's coming to you." As soon

as he said all this, he saw Rainbow flapping her wings at a supersonic speed with a grin whose

excitement was as evident as the sun in the sky as she dove down and landed right in front of

Sonic.

The two friends smiled in eager anticipation as the emotion of just being near each other rushed

through their veins almost as quick as either one of them could run/fly. After a few seconds,

neither could hold it in anymore and they embraced. In that moment, it was another sign of

friendship and harmony; but little did they know that this would kickstart a whole new adventure

for them.

 _Alright guys, so I know that this looks more like a prologue than a first chapter, but I actually_

 _wanted it to be like this. The reason being is that it gives you guys something to look forward to_

 _when I fully get back from Camp Eagle. Also, another announcement. This story is also on_

 _Quotev, which is another Fanfiction website. I discovered Quotev around when I discovered this_

 _website and I decided that it was time for a new group of people to read my stories as well so_

 _that I can get a whole new variety of opinions. Don't worry, there will_ still _be stories to come on_

 _this site. The next story I'm working on (released around 5/12/2017) is the LITO Sequel, which_

 _I'm currently calling_ LITO: Infinity Rising. _This story has been inspired by the_ Sonic Forces

 _game, but I'm going to do my best to put on a good story. One more thing; I wanted the MLP_

 _characters to be anthros because one; that will blend in very well for Sonic and crew in my_

 _opinion and second; to have a creature that moves like a human but still has special abilities_

 _(e.g. Rainbow Dash can fly_ and _run very fast in this story) sounds pretty cool to me._

 _I hope you guys will enjoy that, but_

 _until then; Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep LoveandEdifying._

 _See ya!_


	2. Chapter 2: Challenges of Friendship

**More To Me Than That**

 **Chapter 2: Challenges of Friendship**

 **As Sonic and Rainbow continued their daily "race," another familiar group of friends**

 **went into the same milkshake place Sonic was at just a**

 **few minutes ago. Tails (the nerdy two-tailed fox I told you about earlier) and Twilight (the**

 **lavender nerdy pony I** _ **also**_ **told you about earlier) strode arm-in-arm inside the milkshake**

 **shop. The interior was a rather bright shade of pink alternating with white-and-red**

 **stripes. There was a large booth whose smells of luscious candies and other confections**

 **seemed to illuminate everything in the shop with its invigorating smell. The plush and**

 **comfortable booths that lined the side of the shop were all next to a giant window giving**

 **the customer an easy-eyed view of the town while they chilled and enjoyed their snacks. A jukebox which played various music from all over**

 **Equestria in different times**

 **and small round chairs scattered around the place finished ones impression of this kid's version of a '60's ice-cream parlor.**

 **The two continued their conversation as a beach-tan colored pony in a candy-cane**

 **colored apron appeared at the booth. Twilight looked at the pony and asked, "Excuse me,**

 **but is Pinkie working here today?" The tan pony politely responded, "No, but she'll be**

 **here in a few minutes. Want me to let her know that you two are looking for her?" Twilight**

 **smiled and responded, "Sure, that would be great." A good few minutes went by since**

 **Twilight and Tails ordered their ice-cream and drinks when Twilight broke her view from**

 **the window (where she was trying to see if she could find Pinkie) and**

 **quickly turned to Tails. "Oh Tails, I have something for you." Tails took a break from his**

 **hot-fudge sundae and looked over to Twilight who shoved him a present across the table.**

 **The package was wrapped eloquently in sparkling purple paper and laced with a lilac**

 **colored ribbon. Tails looked curiously at the present;** _ **then**_ **back at Twilight's face, whose**

 **expression told him that she was eager for him to open the present. Then he looked**

 **quickly back down at the present and opened it.**

 **What Tails found inside was a shiny crystal necklace whose glamour would have almost**

 **surpassed the Elements of Harmony in such beauty. Almost.**

 **Tails then looked back at Twilight, who smiled and said, "Call it a token of our**

 **friendship."**

 **Tails smiled back and said, somewhat-jokingly and somewhat-curiously "Is it because**

 **you're the Ambassador of Friendship or is it because you're Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight**

 **briefly laughed at the statement, then said, "Both; but mostly because I'm Twilight**

 **Sparkle." Right after she said that, the small brass bell which hung above the big wooden**

 **door rang indicating that someone opened it.**

 **Well, for this case, it was more thrown open than opened. A black-and-red hedgehog**

 **entered with an edgy smirk on his face. This hedgehog (unlike Sonic) possessed a very**

 **edgy and dark demeanor, whose sharp red eyes and black pupils demanded outright**

 **respect and authority.**

 **Shadow wasn't a villain, he wasn't exactly the "friendliest" guy around. He was loyal to**

 **those he trusted, but that trust would needed tohave been earned; and it did** _ **not**_ **come**

 **easy. Emotional? Try getting the rocks to cry out. Weak? Oh,**

 **let's just say that he's the** _ **ultimate**_ **life form. And for good reason. Even if he didn't have**

 **the teleportation and chaos abilities that made him** _ **especially**_ **threatening, his physical**

 **strength was rivaled by very few and the training he received from when he was a G.U.N.**

 **(Guardian Units of Nations) agent made him a formidable face for anyone to be around.**

 **Dumb? Well, although a dumb person can hold a lot of power, Shadow was anything but.**

 **To sum it up in a nutshell, you better**

 **be** _ **extremely**_ **grateful when he chooses to play for** _ **your**_ **team; and a bit fearful/respectful**

 **when he doesn't. As he strode down to the booth where Twilight and Tails were sitting**

 **and blankly staring at him; he stared intently into their eyes. "So Twilight," Shadow asked**

 **in an edgy tone of voice, which he couldn't help because that's how his voice usually**

 **sounds, "A fox, an edgelord and a** _ **beautiful**_ **mare all meet at an ice-cream shop..." "Lay**

 **off Shadow," Tails said, rather ticked that Shadow started that joke. "You know we're just**

 **friends, right?" Tails said, asking Shadow about him and Twilight. "You and Twilight? A**

 _ **thing**_ **?!" Shadow said, scoffing at the thought, "Don't make me laugh Tails. I may not be a**

 **nerd like** _ **you**_ **," he said, jabbing Tails with contempt but I know** _ **one**_ **thing about reactions.**

 _ **Opposites**_ **attract; but** _ **similar**_ **isotopes...** _ **repel**_ **!" Shadow then eyed Tails with a**

 **razor-sharp countenace that sliced him to the core** _ **harder**_ **than his words already have.**

 **Shadow's "speech" riled up Twilight quickly, but before Twilight could do anything,**

 **Shadow shouted…**

 **"Chaos...** _ **Control**_ **!"**

 **Which froze Twilight in time, then Shadow looked at Tails, smirked and said, "I'll let you**

 **break her out of this one, 'buddy.'" Shadow then turned to a waitress who walked up and gave Shadow a paper bag which contained the meal**

 **that he ordered earlier.**

 **Tails was torn between whether to take care of Shadow or**

 **to try and break Twilight out of Shadow's Chaos Control when Shadow quickly paid for**

 **his meal and dashed out, not noticing that Pinkie came in at the same time because he**

 **dashed out the door that Pinkie opened. She turned briefly to see Shadow and then went**

 **in to find Tails and Twilight in their booth with their food when she quickly turned to see**

 **Tails slap Twilight hard across the face sending her lying down in the booth. Twilight**

 **came too, but not before she saw streamers quickly fly out of**

 **Pinkie's "party cannon" suddenly binding Tails and sending him prone to** _ **his**_ **chair.**

 **She then saw Pinkie rush in on Tails like there**

 **were a** _ **billion**_ **bees in** _ **her**_ **bonnet and shaking Tails like a rag doll.**

 **"Alrightyoucrazytwotailedfreak, whydidyoushakemyfriendaroundlikethat?!" she sparked,**

 **shaking him even more vigorously now as**

 **the events that took place around became more** _ **obviously**_ **clear.**

 **"PINKIE!" Twilight shouted in a**

 **way that garnered the attention of both the about 100 ponies** _ **inside**_ **the parlor and the**

 **dozen or so that were eating their meals or on their way to nearby shops** _ **out**_ **side. Caring**

 **less about that, she snarled and scolded Pinkie for her mistake saying, "Tails slapped me**

 **to get me out of one of Shadow's Chaos Controls and if it serves you** _ **any**_ **purpose to do**

 **so other than to ensure** _ **your**_ **personal safety against** _ **my**_ **rage, you will refrain from** _ **ever**_

 **calling** _ **any**_ **of my friends, especially**

 **my** _ **best**_ **friend, a 'freak.' Because that is the biggest bale of fluff I have** _ **ever**_ **heard come**

 **out of you**

 **Pinkamena Diane Pie;** _ **especially**_ **when we** _ **both**_ **know it's not true. Now if you have**

 **something else stupid to say, then I suggest you say it now!"**

 **Pinkie stared at Twilight blankly for a bit, then sadly**

 **cried and apologized, "I'm sorry Twilight. I didn't even see Shadow until he walked out past me. I guess I just didn't want to see one of my very**

 **bestiest best friends in the whole wide world get punched and hurt, and I just overreacted."**

 **The two friends compassionately hugged each other. "It's**

 **ok Pinkie. I overreacted too because I just didn't want to see anyone hurting** _ **my**_ **friend."**

 **The two continued to hold their embrace and the normal chatter resumed inside the**

 **parlor as the atmosphere in the parlor confirmed that everything was ok.**

 **Well...maybe not everything. When Pinkie and Twilight broke from their embrace to see a**

 **confused and lightheaded Tails (who was listening in on the conversation although he**

 **was somewhat tuckered out after Pinkie's violent shaking of him) almost about to fall**

 **over and faint. Pinkie and Twilight looked at each other, obviously knowing what to do.**

 **Take Tails out of the parlor, get him some air and most importantly, make sure he doesn't**

 **pass out.**

 _ **Meanwhile... in Winsome Falls...**_

 **"Come on Sonic, you gotta think of** _ **some**_ **thing I can give you for our 1-year friendship**

 **anniversary." Rainbow Dash said to Sonic. The two of them ran/flew around several main**

 **areas of Equestria for a bit before Rainbow decided to take her bestie out on a picnic to**

 **Winsome Falls, a special camping location where she, Rarity and Applejack once camped.**

 **Sonic resting underneath a shady tree near the falls seemed to verify Rainbow's notion**

 **that he didn't seem to care that much about the 1-year anniversary. Not being as much as one for "traditions"**

 **herself, she understood where her ocean blue friend was coming from. But** _ **this**_ **tradition**

 **was very special to her, because it marked she and Sonic becoming allies, and even**

 **more, as friends, for the very first time. So despite herself, she quietly walked over to the tree and gently nudged Sonic.**

 **That effort resulted with him rolling around for a bit before stretching, yawning and getting up.**

 **Rainbow gave a small laugh at the sight. "Good morning Sleepy." It took Sonic a while to**

 **rub the sleep out of his eyes due to the somber and peaceful sleep he had experienced.**

 **The reason for Sonic's pleasant rest was simply more than the peaceful atmosphere that**

 **surrounded him and his friend, but that will be revealed later on in the story.**

 **"Well good morning to you too Rainbow." Sonic**

 **said in a joyful manner, gazing at what was now sunset over the horizon. "Beautiful**

 **sunset, isn't it?" he asked his friend as he continued to stretch his muscles some more.**

 **Rainbow looked at the sunset, smiling joyfully, then turning to his friend with the same**

 **contented grin.**

 **"Yes. Although a certain 'sleepy'" she said, giving Sonic a light punch to his shoulder,**

 **"hedgehog almost would've missed it if a certain beautiful young mare didn't wake him**

 **up." she finished, smirking at him. Sonic then turned and asked her friend, "So Rainbow,**

 **anything** _ **special**_ **you might need from me for our 1-year bestie-ship?"**

 **Rainbow shook her head quickly a couple times in utter disbelief, due to**

 **the fact that he asked her the very same question** _ **she**_ **was about to ask** _ **him**_ **a few**

 **minutes ago.**

 **"I was going to ask** _ **you**_ **the same thing." she started, but then stopped as a very curious**

 **and sneaky thought entered her head. "But first, I'm gonna challenge you hedgehog."**

 **Both of them stared at each other for a bit, smirking at each other for a second.**

 **"Rainbow, you know we can run 'til the hippogriffs come home, right?"**

 **Rainbow gave a light chuckle before they both broke from staring. "I**

 **don't mean a** _ **running**_ **challenge Sonic. But I still wanna challenge you. A special**

 **challenge. This week up until the anniversary." she said, clarifying to Sonic what she**

 **meant.**

 **"Ok sister, lay it on me."**

 **Sonic said, lending an ear to Rainbow Dash. It took her but a few seconds as how to**

 **explain her plan. "Ok, so this isn't a win-or-lose challenge. I mean, it is, but it's not. What I**

 **want you to do is think of somebody/pony special, but don't actually contact them until**

 **the Mobiquestrian anniversary. Think about a few special reasons that they're such an**

 **awesome friend to you, then video yourself telling them those things." Sonic scratched**

 **his chin for a bit, with questions inside of his head. "Well, how many reasons am I**

 **supposed to have?" he asked. "That's a good question Sonic." Rainbow**

 **responded. "You can write/do as many reasons as you like, but I think at least 10 will do.**

 **I'll do the same thing as you, and then we'll send the videos to** _ **our**_ **friends and they'll vote**

 **on whose video was better. Music on the video is fine, but no special effects, animation,**

 **etc... Just you telling your friend how special they are." Sonic then smiled and gave a**

 **thumbs-up to Rainbow. "Sounds like a fair-enough challenge. But what will the wages**

 **be?" Rainbow looked in both directions for a second, then asked, "I didn't think that far**

 **ahead yet. Can you give me a sec?"**

 **Sonic nodded, then watched her friend do a Sonic-Rainboom, probably up to go sit on**

 **some cloud. This gave Sonic some time to think for a bit.**

 _ **Sonic POV Thoughts:**_

 _ **"Well this is a nice opportunity. I'll finally be able to figure out how to tell Rainbow how**_

 _ **much her friendship**_ **really** _ **means to me. If I can actually figure out how to tell it myself in**_

 _ **my own head**_ **to** _ **my own head. Too bad that I can't see her until then, but then again,**_

 _ **some fresh perspective on her**_ **would** _ **help, and besides, she didn't say I couldn't see her.**_

 _ **I just gotta not tell her what I'm**_ **really** _ **doing, that's all. Besides, there's no way in**_

 _ **Ponyville she'd pick me. I heard Pinkie telling me about someone named Spitfire that she**_

 _ **wants to get to know better. Oh well, as long as the**_

 _ **consequence isn't something**_ **that** _ **stupid, this oughta be a piece of cake."**_

 _ **Meanwhile, up in the clouds somewhere...**_

 _ **Rainbow's POV Thoughts:**_

 _ **"Come on Rainbow Dash, you gotta find**_ **something** _ **that you can make Sonic do if he**_

 _ **loses this. No, not if.**_ **When** _ **he loses this. There we go girl.**_ **When** _ **he loses the challenge.**_

 _ **After all, there's no way that he can be as awesome as I am. Although come to think of it,**_

 _ **he**_ **is** _ **pretty awesome. There's no way I'm saying that he isn't. He is. There's just no way**_

 _ **he's gonna be awesomer than me**_ **this** _ **time, that's all.**_

 _ **Now, who would I ask for advice about how to say what I feel about Sonic? Hmm...? Of**_

 _ **course, Twilight! She's obviously smart when it comes to that sort of thing. Although**_

 _ **Sonic might pick her, which makes sense because she reminds me a lot of that other**_

 _ **nerdy guy Sonic likeshanging around with. Tails, was it? The fox guy? He's actually**_

 _ **pretty legit in my book too.**_

 _ **I think I'll ask both of them first, but also ask them for other people to ask. Now let's see**_

 _ **about this challenge… I think it would be ok for us to ask the other friend's pony/friend**_

 _ **they picked, since we wouldn't know who we picked anyway. There'd be no way Sonic**_

 _ **would pick me, I mean, he's**_ **bound** _ **to pick Twilight or Tails, which is fine by me because**_

 _ **he's been around Tails the longest, and he's also pretty**_

 _ **good friends with Twilight. Probably the closest Equestrian to him besides me. Now let's**_

 _ **see about the consequence. It can't be too dirty in case I lose, and if it was something**_

 _ **that I... Wait a minute, that's it!**_

 **Normal POV:**

 **Rainbow then flew straight back down to see Sonic leaning up against the same tree that**

 **he was napping by earlier. "Well it's about time you showed up. I was about to go take a**

 **nap." Sonic said, pretending to yawn.**

 **"Hey, one nap a day is enough for you." she said, in a pretend stern voice.**

 **"Anyhow, the loser will have to pay the winner 100 bits for them to buy their special**

 **friend." she proposed. Sonic then thought it over for a bit,**

 **"** _ **Hmmm, where in the world am I gonna get 100 bits? Oh well, just more motivation for**_

 _ **me to try harder I guess."**_ **Then Sonic stuck out his hand for Rainbow to shake. "It's a**

 **bet." she said, with the two friends shaking hands. Then they**

 **both looked at the sky seeing it was about to get dark soon. "Well it's been fun, but I**

 **gotta run." Sonic said to Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, and I gotta fly.** _ **And**_ **get my research done**

 **tomorrow, so how about we ask each other about our progress on the 4th day of this**

 **week from today, Tuesday." Rainbow proposed again. "Alright, Tuesday it is." Sonic**

 **agreed. "Hey, you're awesome!"**

 **Rainbow Dash called as she flew back into the clouds. "Because someone awesome**

 _ **made**_ **me awesome!" Sonic called out in**

 **response, as the two left, thinking about what to say to each other, but not knowing it**

 **was to** _ **each other**_ **that the other would say** _ **their**_ **words to.**

 _ **Alright, so I just wanted to give you a heads-up, I'm not the smartest when it comes to**_

 _ **MLP knowledge because I haven't seen the show that often or heard that much about it,**_

 _ **so I could be wrong on a few things sometimes. For example, I actually just guessed**_

 _ **what Pinkie's shop would look like and basing it off of her personality. Other MLP**_

 _ **information I have gathered from Wikipedia, other Fanfiction writers and other MLP**_

 _ **fan-sites, which lead me to pick Winsome Falls as the place**_

 _ **Sonic and RD would hang out at because it would seem the most "chill." If**_

 _ **anybody/pony/brony whatever sees any other mistakes in me writing this, please let me**_

 _ **know so I can make it right.**_


	3. Chapter 3: Shocking Affections

More To Me Than That

Chapter 3: Shocking Affections

Now you ever have that moment when you have a great idea, but you don't

know that someone else was thinking it at the _exact same_ time?

Well that's exactly what got into the heads of Sonic and Rainbow Dash when

they decided to visit the home of Twilight Sparkle, which was a castle of gems that resided

on top of a tree, for advice about filming each other (which the other never knew about).

What neither of them _also_ didn't know is that someone _else_ was in Twilight's house.

A certain two-tailed kitsune in fact.

In a living room inside the Castle of Friendship (which was

evident in Twilight lived in by how much her scent seemed to radiate the place),

Tails woke up exhausted, shaking himself from the doziness given to

him by Pinkie Pie.

He knew that she only meant it because she mistook his snapping Twilight out of Chaos

Control for an abusive assault, but the ringing in his ears and the confusion actually came

from what Twilight said to him about himbeing her _best_ friend.

Not just one of many, or just another ally (which _everyone_ seemed to think of him as

whether they meant to or not), but her very _best_ friend.

Don't get Tails wrong; he honestly would've said the same thing about her.

Out of the Mane 6, Twilight seemed to be the one Tails could really connect to for her being

a bit of a nerd like Tails. But unlike Tails, her group was all unified. It didn't really have a

leader. All of them were respected for their works as a team. She was used to getting the

attention she deserved. Tails, however, had "sidekick" status on Team Sonic. This team, like

the Mane 6, were a group of great friends; but because their situations were different on

Mobius than Equestria (such as the world being under more _un_ friendly and more

world-threatening conditions in certain cases than in Equestria) everyone usually turned to

Sonic because he was a natural leader. The one who would usually start fighting and

attacking evil with _no_ hesitation. His confidence and power enabled his team to fight harder

and more efficient whereas, without him, the world in which they lived had far more next to

none of a chance of survival. Sonic knew that he had earned his friends respect and also

knew that they would also give it their all for him, which made him feel more comfortable

about using their various gifts when he needed them too. Tails, being his best friend and

main sidekick, was the one who would be the main hacker, technician, weapons designer

and one of the main military strategists on the team. He was also one of the main fighters

of the team as he showed "valor and power" (as Knuckles called it one time) on _and_ off the

battlefield.

In spite of all of this however, he wasn't getting all of the due respect he deserved, at least

that's what he observed. Tails just wasn't as flashy or as brightly spontaneous in a way that

would turn others on.

Sonic would do so with the confidence and the speed, Amy with the over-the-top optimism

and her powerful hammer, Knuckles with his brash thinking and brute strength, Silver with

telekinesis and optimism (although he was a bit more grounded in reality than Amy.)

I think you get the point by now. With Tails though; sure he's a loyal person, but he's not the

most socialite of the Mobians or the most physically gifted or empowered like Sonic,

making him way more depreciated and devalued.

Which explains why he was _utter_ ly surprised that Twilight would even come close to saying

 _anything_ like that about or even _to_ him.

Confusion, exhaustion and the sheer _volume_ of which Pinkie and Twilight argued

was what eventually overloaded Tails's mind that day and made him faint

down right there in front of her at the ice cream parlor. While Tails felt

embarrassed by what he did, he was still flat-out exhausted as he shook his

head violently before thudding back on the ground.

"Oh you poor silly fox."

Twilight said. Tails drifted back to exhaust-driven sleep, so of course he paid

no attention to his friend smiling, walking up to him, picking him up (with a

towel also in her hands) and carrying him up into a spa room where he

would have a better chance of resting.

So let's shift over to Twi as she places Tails down gently in a crystal hot tub

(which was in her Emerald Spa Room)

made with special magical salts that would "soothe" his exhaustion away by

relaxing his mind to the point where it would be fully rested and thus, fully

energized.

Twilight knew that it would take a while for her to truly convince Tails that

she truly _is_ her friend. When she first met the kitsune, one of the first things

she noticed is that everypony else would usually rally around one of his

friends, but not directly to him. It wasn't done to insult him, nor was it done

because nobody/pony wanted to be around him (everybody liked Tails).

But more mainly because of Tails's status as a "sidekick."

You really can't blame everypony's conceptions of him though either.

Tails just wasn't as flashy or as brightly spontaneous in a way that would turn others on.

Sure he's a loyal person, but he's not the most

socialite of the Mobians. He's what you would call a nerd, and since I don't know what

Equestrians would call those types of people, we'll just stick with nerd. He knows how to

make very useful machines; sometimes out of the best materials out there, other times just

with what he can find.

That is something we humans call "life-hacking", and Tails was one of the best at it.

But that was _all_ they usually saw. A great technician who was a loyal sidekick and a great

helper. Nothing more, but at the same time, nothing less.

Twilight saw those things they thought of him, and they weren't bad things at all, neither was

it ill-intentioned, because everyone actually liked Tails.

But it was as if they haven't noticed the heroism their friend offered enough or knew him as

well as they should have as a Mobian, or as a friend or that matter.

She was still thinking about how the Main 6 and she herself saw her friend when she heard

a knock at the amethyst door.

Somewhat annoyed that she was broken out of her thoughtfulness towards someone she

more than highly valued, she strode across the ruby floor of the hallway which connected

the Spa Room to the Onyx-walled living room.

She finally opened the door to see Rainbow Dash and Sonic on the

other side.

"Hey Twi." they said simultaneously in a friendly manner.

Although Twilight was a little stressed about Tails's condition, she controlled herself enough

(knowing that neither of them meant to rudely intrude) and kindly let them in.

"Please sit down." Twilight said, motioning her friends towards a large sofa whose exterior

was made of sapphire and whose cushions are made of the most comfortable of clouds.

Sonic and Dash both sat down and glanced at each other, both wondering why the other

was there with them at Twilight's.

As Twilight sat down in her own comfortable sapphire recliner, Sonic whispered curiously to

his rainbow-colored friend, "What are _you_ doing here?"

She turned and whispered back, "Probably the same thing as you, getting advice for our

friend contest. I'm also assuming that you wanted to ask Twi to be a judge?"

Sonic nodded and Rainbow smiled and nodded as well, affirming to her that they were in

agreement about Twilight being a judge.

"So, what can I do for you both?" Twilight's friendly asked question broke the two friends out

of their conversation.

Sonic and Rainbow told Twilight briefly about them wanting to judge for a contest between

the two for who could best express how they felt about their best friend.

Twilight beamed in a radiant, sparkling excitement. "Are you kidding?! Of course I can be a

judge for you." she said, excited that the two friends came up with such a bright idea;

"In fact, I'll see if we can have the winning video also be displayed for the Week of Elements

Celebration!" she said, accompanying an already great idea with one of her own.

Sonic and Rainbow looked at each other in the eyes with excited looks. One, because their

friendship to each other meant so much that they didn't really care how public it would get.

Second, because it would push them to do even better at coming up

with an amazing idea of expressing how they care about each other because it would no

longer be just them, but for the whole wide world of Equestria to see.

And finally, maybe (just _maybe_ ) through their example, friendship in Equestria as a whole

can be improved like never before. "Yeah that'll be great. Thanks Twi." Sonic said in

gratitude. "Yeah thanks Twi." Rainbow said.

"You're welcome." Twilight said gratefully in response.

"There's just one more last thing

though." Sonic said. Twilight smiled again, with the exception of Tails, Sonic was the closest

Mobian friend she ever had. "Is it a Fist Bump?" Twilight guessed, playfully in a friendly way.

"No, not this time. I don't quite know what exactly to say to this special friend

of mine. Or even how to say it for that matter." he said, then he looked over to Rainbow who

said, "We were wondering if you can give us advice on how to do that so that my speech can

be the best, most spectacular, most _awesomest_ thing my friend has ever seen! And that

Sonic's doesn't make him and his friend fall asleep." she said, gently elbowing Sonic with her

elbow.

Sonic pretended to annoyingly sigh in front of Rainbow. "Really? Are you bringing up

Winsome again?"

"What happened at Winsome?" a confused Twilight asked the two.

"Oh nothing." the two asked, smirking at Twilight, who then nodded

and said "Uh-huh" in a sarcastic manner, knowing better than there would be an "ordinary"

moment between those two.

"So, can you please help us out?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight was about to answer when they saw Tails walk into the living room holding onto a

towel. "Whoa, I don't know what happened there. One minute I was at the ice-cream place,

the next I fainted and now I'm at..." Tails stared awkwardly at a

confused Sonic and Rainbow Dash and then turned to Twilight, who sighed in relief that her

friend was ok.

"Oh hey Twilight." Tails said awkwardly, he looked as if he was caught with his tails in the

cookie jar with a towel around his waist in front of 3 of his closest friends.

"I didn't know you had company over. Uh, hey Sonic and Dash." "Hey Tails." Sonic said, with

he and Rainbow smiling and waving at their two-tailed fox friend. "What do you mean by

fainted?" Sonic asked, concerned.

"Long story bro, I'll talk with you later." Tails said, looking at Sonic, who smiled in

understanding and nodded.

Tails then turned to Twilight and asked, "So, do you know where I can put the towel?"

Twilight found herself staring at Tails, quickly plotting one move that could accomplish two purposes.

To help Sonic and Dash, and to get something important off

of her chest that she had been dealing with for a while now.

Something so significant, that it could _not_ and _must_ not wait _any_ second longer.

"Actually Tails, can you put that down for a bit? I need to talk to you about something

important."

Tails didn't know why she was asking him to do that, or what she needed to talk to him

about, but he put down the towel anyway and went over to her.

"You know Twi, we can leave if you want to. We didn't know you had..." Sonic offered, but

Twilight interrupted with, "No, please stay. It's perfectly fine." She then got off her chair

(which was more like a throne in look and stature), gently lifted Tails up and put him on it,

and sat down on the floor right next to him, as if she were a pauper discussing something

important to a king.

"Tails," she started in a calm, friendly tone, "I just want you to know

that the past year has been one of the most happiest and joyful years of my life. And I'll bet

you could guess why." Tails looked at her confused, as she gently turned to him and said,

"because a golden fox from another world has entered my life and made it better than it

already has been." She smiled and she continued. "As someone who has often been

respected by others for my gifts and abilities, I've always felt like I've been at the center of

attention in a lot of the friendships I was in. I felt like I was thoroughly and effectively doing

my job as both the Ambassador of Friendship and being a friend in general." She then came

a little bit closer to Tails, motioning towards him. "But you helped me realize that there was

more to friendship than just accomplishing something. I saw this kind, tender, amazingly

nerdy fox who was nowhere as respected for what he brought to the

table; fixing broken machines, rebuilding a hippogriff's hut even though he didn't have to,

making ponies laugh, telling stories and even shaving the fur off of your tails to keep a

young pony warm." She paused for a moment to let the words marinate into her

audience, then resumed.

"I could tell that you weren't getting nearly enough respect for what you did for everypony,

but yet I also could tell that you cared more about how the other guy or girl felt rather than

that. Sure, you don't get the credit you deserve; but I could tell in your face

and in your actions how happy you were just to serve than be served. I could _really_ see it in

you.

You helped me realize that the

reward in friendship wasn't glory or a sense of feeling good, but the friendship itself. And I've

been striving for that ever since.

And that's why I want to ask you something."

Tails was listening intently to the story, so his assumably "still"

expression was actually a more focused one. "Ok, go on." Tails said, permitting her to

continue.

"Tails, it's officially been a year since I've known you and I want our friendship to be greater

than before; for my good _and_ for yours." She then

looked to Sonic and Dash (who were listening with intent _and_ anticipation since her story

began) then turned back to Tails before

saying softly and kindly to him, but loud enough for everyone in the house to hear. "I want

you to be my fox-friend."

That statement immediately set Sonic and R.D. in shock as they quickly looked at each

other, then to Twilight. Was she saying what they thought they heard her say?

Tails was shocked too, but his shock came somewhat slower than everyone else's. "I'm

sorry, what do you mean by a 'fox-friend?'" he asked.

Twilight chuckled a bit, then answered. "I know that this seems weird to you Tails, but I _really_

do love you and I _truly_ care about you. I know you've been thinking I'm just the 'Ambassador

of Friendship' and I _have_ to care about you. But nothing is further from the truth and what I

feel. I feel, no, I _do_. I _really_ do love you Tails. And I _really_ hope that my actions have spoke

loudly enough for you to hear and see that." she said in a rather quickened and excited, yet

calm and sincere manner.

"Oh, you mean like boyfriend and girlfriend?" Tails asked, quickly realizing where Twilight

was heading with this conversation.

"Yes, of course I do. I forgot that you guys might have different terms for it." she said,

nervously stammering over her mistake, then blushing. "But if you really don't think that I'm

worth it for you, then I understand." she said, trying not to look too sad about

the possibility, but emotion was still there nonetheless. "I'll still love you. I'll still want what's

best for you and for our friendship to remain." she concluded.

The two left a moment for each other to process what the other had said. Finally, after what

felt like an hour but what was really a couple of minutes; Tails finally broke the silence.

"It's alright Twilight. I understand what it's like to go through with those

feelings. I'd like to take a couple of days to think about it, if you don't mind." Twilight smiled

and nodded, wanting to respect the reasoning of her friend and knowing that a maybe is

better than a no.

"Of course, take all the time you need Tails. I'll be waiting for you." she said,

looking off in the distance. "There's something I need to ask you

though." Tails said, breaking Twilight

out of her trance, making her look towards him with listening ears on and ready.

"I know I'm not really that much of someone to have feelings for, but why would you even

 _consider_ being in a relationship with me?" he asked, wanting to get to the heart of Twilight's

decision. Not in an angry-spirited or negative way; but

in a curious, researching type of way. She smiled at him and said, "Because you're the

greatest thing that ever happened to me."

"You know that greatest thing was me, right?" they all then turned to see Shadow, leaning

against the doorway.

Evidently, he came in while Twilight was talking to Tails and was listening in the doorway the

entire length of the discussion.

"Shadow!" Twilight said, angrily staring down the being that chaos-controlled her earlier,

and also insulted Tails at the same time. "Hold on a second," Sonic said, getting everybody

to calm down. "What's going on here Shadow?!" he asked in a curious sterness.

Shadow smiled his usual edgy smile and stared down and pointed at Tails. "Fox hunting,

what else?"

 _Whoa, bow your heads low; Here comes Shadow! Why is he acting so ticked off at_

 _Tails? And it seems that Twilight is somehow in the middle of this. How is_ she _such an_

 _important piece in Shadow's treatment of Tails? And what about Sonic and_

 _Dash? Are they gonna get any help with_ their _situation? To find out, wait 'til next time._

 _I want to thank wensdayponythomasfan for all the MLP facts._

 _He told me that Twilight's house changed depending on where in the FIM show it was. It was_

 _a tree-house/library in Seasons 1-2 and when she became an Alicorn (please tell me how that_

 _happened) her house was a crystal castle. So I decided to combine the_

 _two ideas somewhat and make her house into a precious-gems castle nestled in a big baobab_

 _tree. Wanna know what a baobab tree is?_

 _Google it._

 _I've seen this question coming and the answer is no, that Twilight is_ not _a changeling. She's_

 _the real deal. Why this is so will be revealed in the next chapter. But Shadow_ does _have an_

 _interesting story behind his motives for this tale. So interesting that they_

 _are going to be in his own story that will serve as a companion to this one._

 _And about the whole "fox-hunting" thing?_

 _Thank the_ Sonic Boom _show for_ that _inspiration._

 _Also, a special announcement. You might have noticed that_ Love Feels Like _has been deleted._

 _Well, I've pretty much lost the motivation for that particular story and have gotten more_

 _captivated by this one. But don't worry, I'm sure this story will be better than_ Love Feels Like.

 _Until next time; Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep LoveandEdifying._

 _See ya! :-D_


	4. Chapter 4: Poetry in Emotion

More To Me Than That

Chapter 4: Poetry in Emotion

The 4 friends stared at Shadow with different expressions on their faces. Twilight's

expression was one of anger as evident by the deep, heavy snorting from her nostrils

and the fire that seemed to animate from her eyes; as if she was actually looking for a

showdown with the ultimate lifeform.

Tails's expression was a bit more of confusion. He knew that Shadow could be

a threat at times; but he never hated Shadow; in fact, he was wondering what could

possibly lead Shadow to enter with such a hostile attitude towards him. Sonic and

Rainbow Dash were mentally in "defense mode", just in case any one of their friends

could possibly be attacked and were _physically_

defending them by standing in a fighting stance in case he actually _would_ attack.

Although it was expected of Shadow to act

in such zeal for what he cared about, he never would do it without reason. Especially

now, when (analyzing the situation on the surface), there was really nothing for him to

attack for.

If he really _was_ listening in on the conversation the whole time, then he would know that

it was over. There would be no real reason to act like that; he could just leave it at first

snappy comment he made about him being the real greatest thing about Twilight's life,

then leave it at that and just teleport out of there. But as the next few seconds would

prove, Shadow teleported right behind an unsuspecting

Sonic and Rainbow, then went straight towards Twilight. He first looked as if to attack,

but then relented.

The look that Twilight saw in the hedgehog's eyes weren't the brash, rough edge that she

was used to seeing. Not even the calm, cool and collected edge she was used to seeing

every oncein a while. But rather, pain. A part of him he had rarely made known to anyone

while he was here.

Tails looked at Twilight, then at Shadow, then at Sonic and Dash (who were facing

Shadow's back ready to fight him in case things got too hectic.) All of them were waiting,

in a stress-filled anticipation for the other to make a move.

Finally, after what felt like minutes but in reality was a brief second, Shadow spoke in a

whisper, "Why did you do this, Twilight Sparkle?" that was filled with pain and

disappointment, as if he was watching a close friend suffer. The only thing Twilight could

do was softly mutter, "I'm sorry, I don't... quite... understand." Shadow's pain that was in

his eyes now boiled, and mixed to create a combination of pain and anger as he grabbed

the chair Tails was sitting on; effortlessly yanked it out from under him and hit him like

he would a baseball to a bat, which sent him smack-down on the

ground with an enormous thud.

Rainbow was about to charge at Shadow full-force, but Sonic held up

his hand to stop her. "Hold on Dash, let's see where he's going with this." he said.

Rainbow did her best to comply, but still let the anger flow through her veins just in case

she needed to charge.

Twilight's expression was now one of concern and fear. Shadow then turned to her with

that same hate-pain combination in her eyes. " _This_ is what I mean Twilight! You

thought I came over to wreck house and mop up?! Well you were wrong. This was

originally the part where youwould acknowledge that _only_ I would ever be the hero you

would desire for some time now, right _after_ I told you what an amazing part of my life you

have been, not just as an intellectual ally; but a kind, compassionate, loyal and

understanding friend. The kind I'd want to be around forever." Twilight then looked down

at the ground with guilt at Shadow's statement. How could she not have noticed how

much Shadow apparently cared for her? Shadow then continued, this time in a painful

rage.

But apparently, the script is flipped _again_. Instead of noticing that _I_ stood in the way of

Timberwolves, saved your life along Jagger's Edge, let you in on some of the darkest

things about my past, and not to mention me being the only one to offer to fight the _real_

Discord while you insisted on helping your friends deal with that shattered queen and her

phony shape-shifting army."

"Whoa, hold up Shadow."

Rainbow Dash interrupted, which seemed to be a mistake by the way Shadow quickly

whipped back to face her. "We were fighting _Chrysalis_ all that time? I thought we

destroyed Discord." Sonic was about to turn around and rebuke Rainbow again, but then

Shadow raised his hand to calm everything down, as it was evident in his face, eyes, but

also his posture that showed that he was back to calm, cool and collected.

"First off Sonic, Rainbow Dash was _right_ to ask that question. It was fit for

fakers to destroy fakers; but more about that in my standalone story that will probably be

written down someday. And second, to get back on topic..." he said, whipping back to

Twilight who knelt down next to Tails while looking at Shadow with tears in her eyes "I

never meant for it to be this emotional for you. I was proving to you what I already knew.

That this fox over here," Shadow said as

he skated on his hover-shoes to pick up Tails by his wrists and jerk him into an upright

position. "wasn't the type who would protect you when needed. But instead,"

Shadow then put Tails down, letting the fox's

unconscious body limply hit the ground "would limp in your arms again."

until Twilight caught him and laid him down, then turned towards Shadow with her horn

charged and ready with a snarling look on her face. "I'm _more_ than capable of defending

myself, thank you!" she snarled angrily at the hedgehog. "And if it's all the same to you,

 _Shadow_ , I wish you were never anyone's problem again _!_ " Shadow was taken aback for

a second, and that also caught Twilight off-guard. Not just what she said it, but _how_ she

said it.

Shadow then strode slowly to Twilight. "Hmph, Fine." he

spoke softly, "I'll leave. But not because I can't finish this petty discussion of how he

could _possibly_ be more of a boyfriend to you than me," then he kneeled before Twilight

with compassionate eyes gazing on hers before finishing his sentence, "But because

you're worth more to me than that." he said, before teleporting out of the scene.

Everyone then silently went to their own business.

Sonic and Rainbow left there quietly so that Twilight could take care of her wounded

friend. As the two went outside, Rainbow angstily asked Sonic the one thing that was on

her mind during that whole time. "Why didn't you let me make hash out of that

hedgehog?" Sonic took a deep breath, then turned towards her. "Because when it gets

like that, the best thing to do with him is to just let him rant so that you can figure out

where he's coming from." he said. "But he was hurting my friend, not to mention _your_

sidekick." Rainbow snapped. "I care about my sidekick, but instead of attacking

someone who we know _isn't_ a villain; shouldn't we at least find out what their motives

are?" Sonic asked, in return. "Well what if it was _me_ that got beat up by Shadow, _what_

then?!" Rainbow asked. " _Then_ I'll start knocking him down a few quills, but you can't

just start doing that without talking to him."

Rainbow quickly took deep breaths to calm down. She knew that her opinion of the

situation might have differed, but she can't have afforded to let herself become uncapped

in front of her best friend. _Especially_ when this whole challenge week was supposed to

be about their friendship anyway. "I'm sorry Sonic. I guess I just don't get why you would

think of sticking up for Shadow anyway, _especially_ after what happened to Tails."

Rainbow admitted calmly and humbly before her friend, with her head down and her eyes

closed. Sonic knelt down next to her, tapping her gently on the head which made her turn

to see Sonic smiling at her. "It's because I'd do for Shadow what I'd do for any of my

friends in that situation. And that's to make sure everything's ok so that

everything will be better. With Shadow, and a lot of other ponies too, the best way to do

that is to actively _listen_ to them so you'd understand how to help them." Rainbow let the

words resonate in her head like a calming salve that helped her exhale all of the stress.

"You get that, Dash?" Sonic asked.

Dash then smiled and turned to her friend, "Right. It's not like you didn't care about Tails;

it's just that you wanted to figure out _why_ Shadow would beat him up so you can see if

you can fix it." Sonic smiled, "Now _that's_ what I call a smooth approach. Now bring it

on!" he said, pointing his finger at R.D., signaling her that it was time to do their

signature handshake. Rainbow nodded. The duo ran/flew 100 yards away from each

other, then turned around going at a supersonic speed going

towards each other, then when they got close enough, they leapt to give each other a

High-five.

They called their signature peace-out move the Sonic Thunderclap; because of how fast

it was.

Right after that, Dash yawned, "Well, I don't know about you, but I gotta get some sleep

for movie-making day tomorrow." Sonic yawned in reply, "Yeah, same. Hey; if you need

me for anything tomorrow, just let me know, ok Dash?" Sonic asked. Rainbow smiled at

her friend, "Awe, no thanks Sonic. I'm sure that I can handle a little ole filmmaking. But

hey, if you're free, I _totally_ could use someone to run with." Sonic smirked back, "Well,

 _when_ I'm free, I will." Sonic said, shaking R.D.'s hoof. "Because this script thing will be a

 _piece of cake_!"

 _Hey everyone. Thanks for reading the newest chapter of this WAY BEYOND 20% COOL_

 _Sonic-MLP Fanfiction. For this being my first go-around with a Sonic-MLP Fanfiction, I_

 _gotta say this story has been easy to find inspiration for._

 _So the next chapter of_ this _story is going to take a while because, like Shadow said, the tie-in story (which is a continuation of this story taking place from_

 _Shadow's perspective) is coming up next, which is currently titled_ "Determination of the

Strong" _and also;_ "LITO: Infinity Rising" _is slowly but surely going to be updated._ _Also,_

 _if anybody/pony wants to "break the 4th wall?" I HAVE A DOOR RIGHT HERE FOR A_

 _REASON YOU DING-DONGS! YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO BUSTING THROUGH MY HOUSE_

 _EVERY SINGLE TIME AND COSTING ME MONEY! DO YOU EVEN_ KNOW _HOW MUCH_

 _HOME REPAIR COSTS?! I_ have _a DOOR!_

 _KNOCK ON IT IF YOU WANT TO VISIT! URGHHHH!_

 _Sorry, I was being a little over-dramatic; that was a Rarity for me. ;-) (Pun intended)_

 _Anyhow, that's it for now…_

 _*doorbell rings*_

 _Ok, looks like I got a visitor. At least they're ringing the doorbell this time._

 _*opens the door*_

 _Huh, why's nobody hear if I heard the…_

 _*window behind me breaks, I quickly turn around to see the broken window*_

 _What the?!_

 _*wall behind me comes crashing down with familiar face on top of me after they tackle_

 _me. I turn around to see…*_

 _?: Hey there my bestest writing paaaaaaaaaaaaal. :-D :-D :-D :-D_

 _Oh. Man._

 _*proceeds to get up*_

 _Alright, looks like I got some business to take care of, apparently (and I need to get better_

 _wall construction) so as always; Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep LoveandEdifying._

 _See ya! :-D_

 _Now where was I with that visitor?_

 _*proceeds to chase visitor around the room* WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?! DIDN'T_

 _YOU HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT I SAID ABOUT THE BIG BEAUTIFUL OAK DOOR?!_

 _YEAH I KNOW IT'S A WORTHLESS BORING ANTIQUE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU_

 _SHOULD HAVE TO MAKE ME PAY SO MUCH FOR MY HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE._

 _COME ON!_


	5. Chapter 5: Friendly Advice (Part 1) RD

**More To Me Than That**

 **Chapter 5: Friendly Advice: Part 1 (Rainbow Dash)**

 **Well, contrary to Sonic's parting remark; putting together the video was going to be** _ **anything**_ **but a**

 **"piece of cake." Oh sure, they could get the music, equipment and extra technical things set up easy;**

 **but for both Sonic** _ **and**_ **Rainbow Dash, the hardest part of getting the video done, is figuring out how**

 **to untangle a web. A complex web of emotion tied together with words that are bound with firm**

 **respect, admiration, loyalty, and love. What kind of love? Well...**

 **"I told you already Pinkie, Sonic and I** _ **aren't**_ **like that." Rainbow told her cotton-candy colored friend.**

 **After leaving Sonic the night before; she had gotten a restless sleep from racking her brains about**

 **what exactly to say to Sonic. Although she eventually** _ **did**_ **get a good night's rest, the issue weighed**

 **heavily on her mind for some time. "Oh come** _ **on**_ **Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie replied with excitement.**

 **"You two, are pretty much the most amazing bestacular friends I have ever seen, EVER!" Pinkie's**

 **face was composed of pure excitement. Big happy eyes, optimistic white grin, just everything**

 **looking like fireworks of happiness exploding in her complexion. Rainbow looked down at the ground**

 **next to a water-fountain in the Ponyville Town Square where the two were sitting on a partially**

 **cloudy, but still nice sunny day. She knew that Pinkie was right on one thing. She had all the respect**

 **in the world for Sonic, he was** _ **truly**_ **the best friend she could possibly ever have (aside from the Mane**

 **6 and her other friends, of course.) "Yeah, I guess you're right there, Pinkie Pie. But that doesn't**

 **mean..." "And you told me that you were gonna try and look for somepony** _ **really**_ **special**

 **recently,** _ **riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight?"**_ **Pinkie asked optimistically. "Well, yeah." Rainbow**

 **Dash admitted. "But I really don't think Sonic's the type of hedgehog to be bound, committed and**

 **loyal forever and ever amen; you know?" That doubt from Rainbow was left with yet** _ **another**_

 **optimistic remark by her friend. "So whaaaaaat? He's** _ **bound**_ **to be** _ **committed**_ **to being** _ **loyal**_ **to his**

 **best friend, right here, Rainbow Dash, in the hoof,** _ **forever and ever amen.**_ **" Rainbow then smiled at**

 **Pinkie. "Well, you** _ **do**_ **have a point there." she replied, looking at her friend with a more optimistic**

 **glare. "Eh-xcatly!" Pinkie said, with an even more happier grin as she got a bit more up-close-and-**

 **personal in her friend's face. "Plus, who said it had to be one of those plain, boring, suit-and-tie**

 **relationships anyway? Just be yourselves like you always are, except pushing each other to beyond**

 **maximum infinity to the infinityeth power of** _ **AWESOMENESS**_ **!" Pinkie's rambling statement seemed**

 **to make a lot of sense to Rainbow, who was finally feeling the sense of optimism her friend was**

 **having. (On a more normal scale though.) Except for one thing. "I wonder how Soarin would think**

 **about that?"**

 **Pinkie stopped for a second, confused. "Soarin?" Pinkie asked, resulting in her friend**

 **nodding in verification. "That colt from your Wonderbolts team?" Pinkie asked again. "Yeah,"**

 **Rainbow verified again. "I mean, come** _ **on**_ **. You don't think I'm just gonna pick Sonic the Hedgehog;**

 **who is** _ **AWESOME**_ **but someone I just met a year ago, over someone I've practically met, known** _ **and**_

 **admired my whole life, am I? Besides, who cares if Sonic and I ever go that direction or not? Sonic**

 **is** _ **AMAZING**_ **! And he's just** _ **beyond**_ **awesome in my book; but no matter what, I'm staying loyal to**

 **Soarin. Because that's who I am." Rainbow turned to Pinkie who just had her jaw down to the floor in**

 **surprise. "Element of Loyalty?" she tried again. Still the dropped jaw. Rainbow then used her tail and**

 **whipped it like an Indiana Jones whip (or a Daring Do whip, for the sake of this series) in front of**

 **Pinkie's face, which successfully snapped her out of it. "Oh." Pinkie said, quickly shaking her head to**

 **recover from the trance she was in. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just basking in how** _ **AWESOMELY**_ **loyal you**

 **are to your friends." The two friends hugged each other, then Rainbow Dash turned to her again**

 **once they broke the embrace.**

 **"But seriously though Pinkie, Sonic is my friend too. So, any ideas on what I**

 **can do for the video?" Rainbow asked. "Hmmm..." Pinkie said, thinking to herself. Then a light-bulb**

 **went off above her head, making Rainbow look at her optimistically before Pinkie said, "Nope."**

 **resulting in Rainbow dropping her head down in disappointment. Then Pinkie got some dusting spray**

 **and a rag, then proceeded to dust off the light bulb to make it glow brighter. When Rainbow saw that**

 **sight, she thought it was weird, but at the same time, she smiled because she knew that it**

 **was** _ **totally**_ **Pinkie Pie.**

 **"But I** _ **do**_ **know who can help yoouuuuuuuuuuu!" Pinkie said in a happy sing-song voice.**

 _ **Noon... at Sweet Apple Acres...**_

 **After getting a quick breakfast with Pinkie Pie at her place, Rainbow Dash listened to her friend's**

 **suggestion; which was seeking out an honest opinion for her answers. Honest, obviously, meaning**

 **Applejack. After breakfast, she flew over the thousands of apple trees to see where her friend was**

 **working. Strangely enough, there was no Applejack bucking down apples. Or Big Mac pulling the**

 **cart. In fact, there was no sign of** _ **any**_ **of the Apple family working** _ **anywhere**_ **on the farm that day.**

 **Even** _ **more**_ **crazy, all the apples looked like they were plucked clean off.**

 **"Strange." Rainbow thought to herself. "The Apple family not working here is rare than me having**

 **brown or black fur." After that, she decided to see if the family was at least home.**

 **Oh they were home alright. Except instead of being hard at work like they usually were, they were**

 **actually sitting around the kitchen table with what smelled like freshly squeezed Apple Family Apple**

 **Juice in hoof. "Hmmm...better check to see what's going on." Rainbow thought to herself as she flew**

 **over to the front door of Applejack's house. She knocked on the door, hoping for a response; and**

 **sure enough, her pal Applejack came up to the door. "Well howdy'do Rainbow Dash. Come on in**

 **pal." she said, as Applejack lead Rainbow into her family's farm.**

 **She looked inside the Apple Family**

 **Farmhouse and was a bit even more shocked to see that the Apple Family, instead of being hard at**

 **work with farm duty, were actually napping on the oak wood floor with cups of cold, refreshing cider**

 **and happily nestled as a family next to 5 electric fans all blowing satisfying cold air towards them.**

 **"I know what I said about going for a run with you today, but in the midst of celebrating our family**

 **getting** _ **way**_ **past our quota** _ **and**_ **getting a letter from Celestia about her needing a** _ **huge**_ **order from**

 **our farm for the Week of Elements, it made my family all tuckered out and they needed a rest."**

 **Rainbow looked at the Apple family, all peaceful and tuckered out. She clearly also heard Big Mac**

 **(Applejack's brother) adding a happy, relaxed "Eeyuup" in between his Z's. Honestly, Rainbow**

 **almost forgot about their run too. In the midst of trying to think up a good video for Sonic, she almost**

 **blitzed out about the run through Whitetail Woods she promised Applejack until she was reminded by**

 **her just now. Still, she didn't want to look like she was welching on her friend but at the same time,**

 **she knew how tired she must have been from all of that work.**

 **"Well, if you'd rather not run because**

 **you're tired and you still need to fill the quota for the Week of Elements then that's** _ **totally**_ **fine with**

 **me." she said, in an understanding intent that came out a bit more like a competitive tone. "Are**

 **you** _ **kiddin'**_ **Darlin?" Applejack responded, with a crimson, red-apple fire in her eye, "I've been**

 **promising to have us a good quality running hangout all week." she said, raring to run out the door,**

 **prompting Rainbow to confidently follow. "Besides, my family hired** _ **extra**_ **help this week and put me**

 **on a lighter workload so I could put some better 'quality' in my high-quality work." "**

 **Gotcha"** **Rainbow** **said confidently as the two friends raced across Ponyville with smiles on their faces, enjoying the**

 **time the two were spending.**

 **"So, where you wanna run first?" Rainbow asked Applejack.**

 _ **About a couple hours later...**_

 **The duo raced all throughout Equestria for the better part of the day and into the afternoon. Only**

 **stopping for a brief water break and Applejack complaining about her seeing black and red flashes**

 **every once in a while. "But I really** _ **was**_ **seeing 'em Rainbow." Applejack said, perplexed. The two now**

 **rested near the entrance of Whitetail Woods and were en route to Whitetail Woods. The air was**

 **rather** **crisp and cool with a slight breeze blowing, yet it was still a bright sunny day. The two nestled**

 **against a tall, strong oak tree with sweat streaming down their foreheads after the hard long run.**

 **"Dark black and red flashes went right across my eyes. It was as if I was seeing something, or**

 **someone, blurring right across my face." Applejack said, in a rather confused and delirious sounding tone.**

 **Rainbow chuckled. "Come on Applejack. We both know**

 **that that was Shadow. Besides, even if he** _ **did**_ **decide to drop his hunt for Twilight, that doesn't mean**

 **he's gonna fall head-over-hooves for you just like that." Applejack's expression, needless to say, was**

 **one of confusion. "I don't even know what you're talking about Rainbow Dash. Plus, why would you**

 **even** _ **assume**_ **I have a crush on him?" Rainbow decided to mess with her friend for a bit before**

 **resuming their run. "Yeah, I'm always wrong. And if you were honest right now, you'd say I was**

 **dumb." she said sarcastically yet disguised well enough to "sound" hurt.**

 **As the two resumed their sprint, Applejack grew rather irritated at Rainbow's statement.**

 **"Rainbow Dash, you are** _ **not**_ **dumb. Didn't you learn** _ **anything**_ **from that exam? It's not that you don't**

 **learn anything; it's just that you learn differently." Rainbow smirked, content with the reaction she**

 **got from her friend. She already knew and remembered well how Twilight took advantage of**

 **Rainbow's learning through observing what was around her to help her pass a Wonderbolts Training**

 **Test. "Of** _ **course**_ **I know that silly. I was only horsing around with you. But if you** _ **honestly**_ **want my**

 **opinion on it, I honestly think you're making to big of a deal about nothing. You're** _ **way**_ **too awesome**

 **for someone to just be kicked around and ignored. You're Applejack, the Element of Honesty. And**

 **just all-around one of my most awesomest friends** _ **ever**_ **!" Applejack smiled, encouraged by her**

 **friend's compliment, which in turn gave her enough energy to push herself even faster (although the**

 **two of them still pushed each other to be neck-and-neck)**

 **"Well Rainbow Dash, I can't thank you**

 **enough for that. You truly** _ **are**_ **the Element of Loyalty. I really wish that _Sonic_ could see that that's**

 **more than just a placeholder nickname for ya. 'Cause you're the real rootin-tootin deal Rainbow."**

 **Applejack said with confidence and a wink.**

 **When Sonic's name was mentioned, it was now Rainbow who was the one who looked all confused and**

 **started to slow down for a bit. Applejack, noticing this, slowed down just enough so that her friend**

 **can still keep up with her. "Whoa hold on. I was** _ **joking**_ **about you and Shadow, you know that right?"**

 **Rainbow asked. Applejack smiled and responded, "Yup, I did. But I'm _not_ joking about you and Sonic**

 **though. You two are great friends now, but when you two join forces and become something**

 **more, the sky's the limit. No wait, the** _ **universe**_ **will be the limit for you two." Applejack, like Pinkie,**

 **was excited about the possible prospect of Sonic and Rainbow being more than friends (albeit in a**

 **less over-the-top kind of way, but excited nonetheless). Rainbow looked at her kind of irritated as the**

 **two continued to run. "Applejack come on. First off, Sonic and I are** _ **just**_ **friends. Ok maybe super-**

 **duper-awesomely-awesome-** _ **BEST**_ **friends, but still..." Rainbow was about to continue on the trail**

 **she was trying to go on about why she felt she and Sonic were just friends when she actually**

 **remembered what she was trying to ask Applejack about in the first place. She first turned to look at**

 **her friend, who had a "come on, quit denying it" smirk on her face and then Rainbow turned to see**

 **that she and her friend were about to enter Winsome Falls. "Actually Applejack, I could use some**

 **help with me and Sonic, but not a 'relationship' thing, ok?"**

 **The two friends kept their eyes on the path**

 **so they wouldn't run into each other, but they could still understand what the other** _ **meant**_ **through**

 **tone, pitch and shakiness of voice and because the two were friends for so long, they could**

 **obviously tell what the other was** _ **honestly**_ **trying to say. "I'm all ears. What seems to be yer**

 **problem?" Applejack asked sympathetically to her friend. "Well you see, Sonic and I challenged each**

 **other to make a 10-minute video about who our best friend is and why they're so special." Applejack**

 **nodded in agreement. "Mhm. So it's trying to beat Sonic you're so worried about? Or is it something**

 **else?" she asked. "That's just it." Rainbow replied, "Sonic** _ **is**_ **who I'm writing**

 **about. But I just don't know what to say or how to say it." "Ok, so what** _ **does**_ **Sonic mean to you**

 **anyway?" Applejack asked, trying to understand the depth of the whole situation. Rainbow jumped**

 **ahead and skidded her feet to a stop, just like a car that was driving fast but pulling a quick stop and**

 **barely missing the other car in front of it, which prompted both of them to stop running and take a**

 **break for a while.**

 **"Oh come** _ **on**_ **Applejack?" Rainbow shouted in annoyed**

 **disbelief. "You really don't know? Have you really ever seen someone as awesome as I am running**

 **around on his legs,** _ **actually**_ **keeping up with me? He is just** _ **almost**_ **the exact same as me in every**

 **shape and matter. The speed, the heart, the guts, the undivided loyalty..." "...the awesomeness, the**

 **coolness, the radicalness?" Applejack said, playfully interrupting with a guess of her own. "Rainbow**

 **smirked at her friend. "You know what I mean, Applesauce." Rainbow playfully responded. The two**

 **laughed for a brief moment before Rainbow went back to her line of focus. "But the best part**

 **about Sonic?" She thought intently as she starred out into the big bright blue sky and happily sighed.**

 **"Uh, are you ok there Rainbow Dash?" Applejack asked in confusion to her seemingly dreamstruck**

 **friend. "Is that he's been the one thing many people see me as, you guys have been, but he just**

 **lightning-bolts the explanation on to it like the blue ribbon to my awards Hall of Life..." Rainbow Dash**

 **continued to ramble.**

 **By that time, Applejack became impatient and annoyed at the rambling on so.**

 **"Now what in the hee-** **haw are you trying to say Rainbow Dash?!**

 _ **WHAT**_ **does Sonic have that we have that you are that**

 **he's also to you as well as us?" she asked, in a surely, sternly annoyed tone;** _ **clearly**_ **wanting nothing**

 **more than to finish whatever imaginative "romantic" fantasy her friend was having, finish their gallop**

 **and then head home to her nice comfortable bed. "Inspiration. Or as my pal Rarity would say,**

 **'Inspiration dah-ling,** _ **Pure**_ **inspiration.'" she said, switching to Rarity's French accent for the final**

 **part. Applejack finally calmed herself down once she realized that despite her friend's unnecessary**

 **chatter, her point did contain validity. Before the Mobians came to Equestria, Rainbow Dash had**

 **plenty of friends that she could count on to help her improve. Whether it was in racing, friendship, or**

 **life in general; she always had good friends who were there to show her the way. And for all that, she**

 **remained the truly awesome, cool, radical, confident, loyal and supersonically-fast mare she was to**

 **this very day. There were a few mares and colts that could pull off being somewhat similar to**

 **Rainbow Dash, and while she respected those types of ponies nonetheless despite their differences,**

 **there was none that truly could compare to Rainbow. None that could truly be so similar that she**

 **could not only improved, but also, be pushed. With Sonic, there was someone who would fill the "just**

 **as awesome, yet still different enough not to be boring" type of friend Rainbow would be looking for.**

 **However, what Applejack also knew was that half of the Mane 6 (with Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity)**

 **had a crush on certain Mobians. She learned about Twilight and Tails yesterday, and although**

 **Rainbow Dash intended to try and pursue something with Soarin; Applejack knew that that won't**

 **likely work for two reasons. The first being that even though Soarin and Rainbow** _ **are**_ **good friends,**

 **from what she could tell at the Wonderbolts Trainings she went to with her, Soarin actually was**

 **having affections for Spitfire (another one of Rainbow's close friends/Wonderbolts teammate); and**

 **the second being that even if Soarin** _ **didn't**_ **have eyes for Spitfire, she had an intuitive sense that**

 **Sonic would have been a better choice for Rainbow anyway (for the earlier aforementioned reasons)**

 **and also (although Rainbow and Sonic never said they would start a dating relationship with each**

 **other) they would be amazing for another whether as best friends or something more than that.**

 **"Uh, Applejack?" Rainbow said, thereby quickly de-railing Applejack's steady, peaceful passenger-**

 **train of thought. "What, oh sorry Rainbow." Applejack apologized awkwardly. "So, what was it you**

 **wanted to ask me about?" she then proceeded to ask, as the two friends stretch for their run**

 **to Winsome Falls, which was about an easy 100 yards away from where they were at.**

 **"The thing is Applejack, I need your help with just putting those feelings into words that will be good**

 **enough for our judges, for me,** _ **and**_ **for Sonic. And on top of all that, Twilight was going to put the**

 **winning video up for display at the Week of Elements festival." Rainbow spoke in a rather stressed**

 **tone before Applejack helped her friend calm down by leading her in a series of deep breaths. After**

 **about a minute, Rainbow Dash finally was calmed down enough to resume speaking. "I think I need**

 **another friend to help me out with this whole thing. I know Twilight's a judge for sure, but I don't**

 **want to be cheating. I've just drawn a blank, but I think with the two of us; we might be able to tell**

 **him how I feel even** _ **way**_ **awesomer than if I did it myself." While Applejack wasn't against her friend's**

 **idea and her asking of help, she also could tell that Rainbow was trying** _ **way**_ **too hard and**

 **so she played her always trusty "Honesty Card" but decided to mix it up**

 **a little bit. "Hmmm...let me think about it..." Applejack said, pretending to think hard, with Rainbow**

 **intently waiting eagerly with a smile. "You know what?" Applejack finally said. "What?!" Rainbow**

 **asked, jumping up in excited anticipation. Applejack then looked up into the sky, "You know, I didn't**

 **know the Wonderbolts were having a flyby here today." she said. Rainbow then quickly turned to look**

 **up at where Applejack was looking, and saw no Wonderbolts. After that, she quickly turned around to**

 **see Applejack galloping off without her. She grunted out of frustration of falling for one of the oldest**

 **tricks in the book and chased her friend down before the two were neck-and-neck again.**

 **"** **So what do you think Applejack? Give me your honest opinion about it." Rainbow asked frantically,**

 **wondering if her friend really wanted to help her on her very important "quest" or not. Applejack**

 **simply smiled and honestly replied, "Ok, I** _ **honestly**_ **think that you're making too big of a deal about**

 **nothing." If Rainbow was frustrated about anything, it wasn't that her friend wasn't interested; but**

 **rather that her friend** _ **didn't say**_ **whether she was interested or not. That frustration quickly turned to**

 **surprise when both of them stopped as they instantly saw a certain black-and-red figure**

 **teleport right in front of their running path.**

 **He looked sharply into their eyes, with a combination**

 **of edge and anger, as he said, "Which I clearly am** _ **not**_ **." with a scowl burning bright on**

 **his face.**

 **Rainbow, who clearly knew that Shadow thought Applejack was referring to him as**

 **"nothing," thought to herself, "** _ **Not quite Shadow. That's**_ **exactly** _ **what you are."**_ **She then**

 **turned to Applejack, who for some reason looked like one of the most delirious idiots on**

 **the planet.**

 **Applejack was** **obviously trying to shake some kind of emotion off as she seemed to shake her head**

 **violently for a second, then Rainbow noticed that Applejack's eyes seemed to be soaking**

 **in Shadow as one would observe a gorgeous celebrity.**

 **Observing every minute detail, her mind being in deep admiration of** **Shadow for... well, some reason.**

 **Rainbow couldn't imagine why someone would think or even**

 **look this way towards what she thought was a malicious, dark, egotistical and**

 **self-centered hedgehog.**

 **She wondered at times what** _ **anyone**_ **, including Sonic, would see in him? She was**

 **connecting an absurd logic puzzle in her head, listening for the final piece.**

 **She then looked at Applejack; whose hooves were sweating, adrenaline was rushing, and**

 **whose eyes were staring with a passion unlike she had ever felt before into the**

 **black-and-red hedgehog standing before her; prove once and for all her somewhat**

 **bizzare theory that she had about why her friend was acting so strangely awkward at that** **moment.**

 **"Whoa, h-hey there Shadow. H-how's your day been?" Applejack's nervous**

 **stammering over those few words all but confirmed Rainbow's concern. Her friend...is**

 **falling...for** _ **Shadow**_ **?! We'll get into why she's feeling that way in "** **Determination of the**

 **Strong** **" but it was still shocking for R.D. to adjust to.**

 **"Just letting you know Rainbow**

 **Dash, I'm not even here to fight you."**

 **At Shadow's words, Rainbow Dash immediately snapped back into reality, and at expert**

 **bullwhip speed, turned to face Shadow with an anger in her eyes. Anger for what he did**

 **to Tails, and the threat he could be to the rest of her friends, and all of Equestria for that**

 **matter.**

 **"And even if I was," Shadow continued; in a trash-talking, edgy tone."I know from last**

 **night that you couldn't even catch me if you tried. Even if no one** _ **was**_ **holding you back."**

 **Rainbow flew directly at Shadow at supersonic, raging speed; going for the knockout.**

 **But she suddenly stopped a few inches short as Applejack got in her way, standing on**

 **her two back hooves and protecting Shadow from her friend's rage, and Rainbow from**

 **making an utter mistake by attacking Shadow; something Sonic clearly didn't want her to**

 **do (** _ **especially**_ **after how things almost turned haywire the previous night.)**

 **"Get out of the way Rainbow! I'll take it from here." Applejack shouted sternly.**

 **Rainbow was shocked.**

 **Why would Applejack go as far to protect an adversary? She figured she had a crush on**

 **him, but** _ **why**_ **?**

 **Why a potential** _ **enemy**_ **? She did know** _ **one**_ **thing though. If she couldn't fly** _ **towards**_

 **Shadow (because Sonic, and now apparently Applejack thought it's a bad idea) she could**

 **fly the other way to vent some steam.**

 **(Rainbow Dash P.O.V.)**

 **"Well, this just happened." she said, in a tone of shock and confusion**

 **before she flew off to Twilight's for (hopefully) some advice on Shadow.**

 **"** _ **Hopefully Sonic could give me some advice on what to do about Shadow.**_

 _ **I can't keep being angry and confused like this forever.**_

 _ **Especially when I have to focus on a video for my very fast, super-blue, most**_

 _ **hedgehogyist, most awesome best friend in the whole wide world.**_

 _ **But what about Applejack? Maybe I shouldn't have left her like that.**_

 _ **Oh well, sometimes part of friendship is having faith in your friends as much as they**_

 _ **put their faith in you.**_

 _ **I'll bet if worse does come to worse, Applejack's physically strong and**_

 _ **powerful enough to wipe the deck with him. No problem whatsoever.**_

 _ **(Normal P.O.V)**_

 **Little did Rainbow Dash know, that the rest of this week, would be one for her to**

 **remember. Not just for the fun the festival would bring or even how much closer she**

 **would get to know her best friend, but for the lessons she will learn in an adventure she**

 **would always remember...**

 _ **Well that's it for this chapter of**_ **"** **More To Me Than That** **",** _ **thanks everyone SO VERY**_

 _ **MUCH for reading! :-D :-D :-D.**_

 _ **The goal of this chapter was to show how**_

 _ **Rainbow Dash truly was feeling towards Sonic while at the same time providing a**_

 _ **different P.O.V. of the events that took place during the latest chapter of**_ **"** **Determination**

 **of the Strong** **"** _ **to tie up loose ends from there.**_

 _ **As you could tell, both this chapter and the next one for this story will**_

 _ **mainly be about Rainbow Dash and Sonic asking their friends for advice about how to**_

 _ **communicate what they already know about each other and as you'll see in the next**_

 _ **chapter in**_ **this** _ **story, Sonic's thought process is a lot more different than Rainbow's.**_

 ** _I wanna send a shout-out to MoonLight Arc who has written an_ amazing _Fanfiction that has really kept me_**

 ** _motivated to write this little tale here, called_ "Friendship is Fate" _and I love those types of stories where you have friends,_**

 _ **but mutual interests and self-interests just seem to get in the way of that.**_

 _ **While these stories (this one, and**_ **" Determination of the Strong" _) aren't exactly gonna be like_ that _,_**

 ** _(probably gonna save it for the sequel. ;-) ) I really do enjoy reading those types of stories._**

 ** _If you want to read his story, (again, it's called_ "Friendship is Fate" _) I highly recommend it, it's a great read._**

 ** _Next up in my stories, we got the next chapter of my Sonic-Zootopia story_ "LITO: Infinity Rising" _, which is gonna be another great chapter_**

 ** _and then after that... (Oh boy), we are_ FINALLY _going to figure out what type of explosive or booby trap Pinkie put in the envelope that_**

 ** _Derpy sent me in the last chapter of_** **" Determination of the Strong" _that hopefully won't kill me or blow all 4 of my walls._**

 ** _Or blow up the walls within my walls,_ within _my walls. That's like, 64 walls._**

 ** _Anyhow, as always, Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep LoveandEdifying._**

 ** _Bye. :-) :-D_**


	6. Chapter 6: Friendly Advice (Part 2) S&T

_Me (compassionately): I'm sorry Fluttershy, I_ really _didn't mean to scare you like that. I just_

 _thought you were Pinkie Pie trying to bug me again._

 _*Fluttershy starts to stand back up to look me in the face and smiles*_

 _Fluttershy (kindly): It's ok. I know Pinkie can be a bit of a handle sometimes._

 _Me: Yeah. Hey, speaking_ of _Pinkie; did she sneak into my house and place all sorts of crazy_

 _things in there?_

 _Fluttershy: *shrugs in confusion*_

 _Me: Come on inside, I'll see if I can have Tails invent a P.S.S.D for me later._

 _*we both walk in the house*_

 _Fluttershy: *stares in confusion and scratches her mane*_

 _Me: Pinkie Stuff Searching Device?_

 _Fluttershy (realization): Oh._

 _Me: Anyhow, I've been trying to get my home in Equestria set up for a bit now because I want to  
_

 _feel at home here when I bounce all around the Multiverse writing records of all the history I see_

 _go down, y'know?_

 _Fluttershy: Mhm. I'm sure that with a little bit of love and paint, your house would look lovely._

 _Along with a decent chair, some nice tables, a couch, a bookshelf…_

 _Me: Yes, and more. And I_ would _have all that. If a certain pink knucklehead didn't decide it_

 _would be "more fun" to make most of my home expenses go towards my walls._

 _Fluttershy: Why can't you just buy more things along the way? You_ do _make lots of currency_

 _throughout the multiverse._

 _Me: Yeah, but there's a_ LOT _of other stuff I have to pay for. I have to pay to make checks on the_

 _portal gun, I have to pay electricity for every rental home I stay in in every world in the_

 _multiverse, I have to pay for portal equipment, I have to pay taxes on different planets, I have to_

 _get snacks for everyone on the adventures I follow around, I have to pay for a weapon to defend_

 _myself in case bad guys attack, I have to pay in case_ someone _attacks the walls in my_ other

 _houses, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera._

 _Fluttershy: Like Deadpool?_

 _Me (anguished):_ ESPECIALLY DEADPOOL! _At least he decides not to swear whenever I write_

 _this stuff and puts it in the stories. Albeit he never does because I haven't wrote down any of_

those _stories yet, but still, he promised!_

 _Fluttershy (concerned): That's not_ exactly _why you threw Pinkie Pie out of the house, was it?_

 _Me (calmer): No. I honestly just got upset that she just downed my story. I mean, yeah it's true_

"Determination of the Strong" _isn't getting the most views with 220 right now…_

 _Fluttershy: So you were feeling terrible about the amount of views you got for your stories;_

 _despite all the hard work you put into them?_

 _Me: Yeah, and she helped out by being all, "Zippity-dee, I'm Pinkie Pie; the_

 _most spectacularly annoying load of nonsense you're_ ever _gonna meet. I can do house_

 _demolition for you, raise your expenses,_ AND _treat your life and work like they don't even_

 _matter… You know it, I can do it. Wanna know why? 'Cause I'm Pinkie Pie! :-D"_

 _Fluttershy (compassionately): I know that it can be hard for you to deal with her; But I'll bet that if_

 _you give her a chance, she'll come to treat you better and who knows, maybe she'll be one of_

 _your best friends here after all._

 _Me: You know I still have a ton of great "best friends" in Equestria already, right? 6 in particular._

 _;-)_

 _Fluttershy: What do you mean?  
_

 _Me: *smiles*_

 _Fluttershy: *laughs*_

 _Fluttershy: Oh I get it. You mean us, the_ Mane _6, don't you?_

 _Me: *happily nods*_

 _Fluttershy: You mean the Mane 8 right? What about Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer?_

 _Me: I haven't met them yet; so I'm not going to be_ too _assumptive. I've done some research on_

 _Sunset and I think she's absolutely A-MA-ZING! But I still want to actually_ meet _her first,_

 _Y'know?_

 _Fluttershy: *understandably nods*_

 _Me: As for Starlight, well… you know what, let's actually finish this chapter first and_ then _we can_

 _discuss this on the Q &A Chapter, ok?_

 _Fluttershy: Alright then, let's do this._

* * *

More To Me Than That

Chapter 6: Friendly Advice: Part 2 (Sonic and Tails)

"But Sonic? How come we're running over to Twilight's? It's not like we need anything from over

there." Tails asked Sonic as the pair were heading all across Canterlot towards Twilight's castle.

Sonic turned to his friend and smirked, "Because I need to ask her something that might help

me win this Friendship Game." Sonic replied confidently. Tails gave his friend a thumbs-up, but

he had a strange feeling that something else was going on. It had also been a couple of days

since he saved Twilight from Shadow's Chaos Control and her telling Tails her feelings for him.

He knew that Sonic was also a close friend of Twilight's, and he didn't mind him going to her for

advice; but he also knew that if he went along with him, Sonic would most likely try to ask him

how he felt about Twilight. Not that he wouldn't want to respond to the question, but rather, he

didn't see himself as _the_ one for Twilight. Plus, _why_ was she doing all this, for _him_?! Although

he remembered what she said to him about how he helped her realize that friendship itself was

the main thing for her to pursue and not just the things that could be gained from it; but how was

 _he_ the greatest thing that happened to her? He continued to ponder that as the duo stopped at

Twilight's castle. Sonic pushed open the door to hear some familiar humming coming from the

study area of the castle. The duo went to check it out, only to find out that the familiar humming

didn't come from Twilight; but rather her assistant, Spike, the small, purple, green-scaled,

gem-loving and very friendly dragon. "Oh, hey Sonic. Forgot something from last time you were

here?" Spike asked. Sonic smiled towards the small dragon and lean against the crystal desk

the dragon was standing on. "Not really. Just needed Twilight's help with something. You know

where she is?" "Hmmm…" Spike said, scratching his chin trying to remember. "Oh yeah," Spike

said, just a few seconds later. "She said she was going over to the Princess' to check in on the

Week of Elements." "Great. Thanks Spike." Sonic said, giving him a thumbs-up (which the

dragon responded with likewise) before turning to Tails and telling him to stay with Spike. "I have

a feeling that knowing someone close to her will help you out with her problems." Sonic said to

Tails with a wink as he sped out the door towards the Princess' castle. Leaving Tails staring out

the door in confusion before Spike got his attention by tapping him on one of his namesakes.

"So, is there anything you wanna talk to me about?" Spike asked him.

* * *

 _Meanwhile… at the Royal Palace_

When Sonic finally arrived at the palace, he found not one, not two, but 4 (that's right, _4_ ) Royal

Princesses conversing together about, well… something. Their conversation seemed renesent

to a common group of giggling high-schoolers chatting and sharing secrets in the corner of a

room; as

seemed to be the case here when Sonic entered the castle. "And how about you Princess

Blaze? Have _you_ ever had someone that you would just want to hold your arms around and

squeeze all day?" Celestia asked her new friend. Sonic decided to eavesdrop for a little bit, not

wanting to interrupt the royals. Blaze thought about Celestia's question for a moment. "Yeah, I

wish. Unless I count friends, I guess I could say I'm not lucky enough to _have_ someone to hold

otherwise they'd burn in my arms." The 4 royals laughed at Blaze's well-placed joke. Sonic let

out a silent chuckle himself. He was pleased to see one of his closest Mobian friends get along

with Equestrians and fitting in with them so well. "Hey, speaking of burning; I hear that _someone_

has a crush on a certain sidekick from somewhere." Luna said in a gossipy type of tone which

made Twilight nervously shudder a little. She then winked at Celestia. "Oh yes sister, I've heard

he's from a completely different world. One named, Mo- _bi_ -us." Celestia said, concurring with

Luna. Twilight then nervously laughed as both Celestia and Luna then turned their eyes towards

Blaze. "Oh why yes, I absolutely _must_ know Twilight dearie, please tell us about this two-tailed

creature you call a crush." Blaze spoke in a French accent which was not unlike Rarity's, but a

bit more proper; for royalty's sake. All 4 of them playfully laughed at the conversation. "Oh

Blaze," Twilight said, gently pushing her a bit in playful banter. Her tone then switched to one of

panic when she discussed how she approached Tails about a romantic relationship

"You know I love Tails; but I feel

like I kinda pushed him a little too much. Like I respect him for wanting to wait it out and

everything; but what if it's no? What if he's completely not gonna wanna be friends with me

anymore, what if he…" "Whoa, hold up Twi; otherwise you're gonna hurt yourself _and_ your

chances." All of the princesses turned to see Sonic giving them a signature smirk and

thumbs-up. After that, all of them gave him a friendly bear-hug which Sonic returned in equal

gratitude. When the five broke from their embrace, Twilight immediately spoke up. "So, hehe;

what _do_ you think? Did I push it a little too hard with him or not hard enough or…" Luckily for

Sonic, Celestia put her hoof over Twilight's mouth to get her to be quiet. She then put her hoof

off of her friend's mouth and Twilight finally calmed down so that she could listen to what Sonic

had to say. "I think your timing and approach were ok; he just didn't see it coming, that's all."

She went back to looking down at the ground and sighed dejectedly. "I just don't get it. I mean, I

was honest, sincere, gave him time and everything." Twilight stopped herself as she was about

to let herself get caught up in it, but instead decided to slightly deviate in a way. "Do you know

Tails is processing this?" Sonic thought for a moment, trying to decide how to honestly tell her

how Tails was feeling but remain sensitive to his friend's feelings. He finally decided to choose

honesty. "I think he's still trying to figure out why you would love him so much." Twilight stared at

him, confused. "About why he's such a close friend to you." Twilight just looked at him even

more confused than ever so she just decided to interrupt Sonic here and there. "I'm pretty sure I

told you last night, he made a _difference_ in my life. One that you or Shadow or anypony in here

couldn't _possibly_ understand!" she said in an angry voice that produced a poor-quality of

disguise for the stress that was obviously protruding from her body language. Sonic, knowing

this about his friend, went straight to the point. " _Tails_ doesn't understand either, ok?!" Sonic

said, with a sense of urgency in an attempt to snap Twilight out of her stress. It worked.

Immediately, her countenance went from shock to realization. She turned to see all 3 of the

other princesses, who were in a state of shock and duress after sensing Twilight's stressed-out

attitude, now collectively taking a sigh of relief and relaxing. Sonic himself also calmed down

once he sensed that Twilight was in well-enough condition to resume their talk about Tails. "He

doesn't know how you've been changed by him. _That_ 's why he's nervous. He's also still

wondering why and how when you have Shadow, when you have me, when you have any male

in Equestria wanting your love, why give it to someone like him." He calmly spoke to his friend,

who appeared to be more peaceful now. Twilight now knew what could have possibly preventing

Tails from just simply explaining how he felt; and she was glad that she had a friend like Sonic

who understood what she needed at these times. Despite their differing personalities; they are

both admirable leaders for their friends to follow, and have been stalwarts to each other as well.

They could easily see through each other's eyes; which makes it easier for them to have each

others backs when they needed it, or simply a unique way to play, learn or experience

something. It was at those thoughts when Twilight beamed in realization. She now knew what to

do to help Tails understand. She first went over to Sonic and embraced him. "Thank you very

very much Sonic." Sonic looked confused about the sudden embrace, but gladly accepted it

anyway with loving arms. (And no, he did not kiss her under the light of 1,000 stars. It was

daytime when all this happened, while Shadow was making meat of the t-wolves. ;-) What? I'm

just Thinking Out Loud.) Anyhow, when the two decided to let go, Twilight turned to leave and

said, "Now I know what I can tell Tails. I just need some time to prepare it and… " she said,

turning to Sonic with a confident smirk and saying to him, "just a little bit of magic." Sonic looked

at her as confused as ever. Twilight just teleported out of the castle. He looked at the other 3

princesses and asked, "Could somebody please explain to me what's going on here?" in

confusion. All three of them shrugged in reply, much to the frustration of Sonic; who really wanted an answer.

* * *

 _Meanwhile… in the Ponyville Town Square…_

After finishing a conversation with Spike about how he felt about Twilight, he suggested to go to

one of Twilight's friends for advice. He didn't know who in particular to get advice from, but he

felt like he needed to go for a walk anyway; so he decided to walk directly to the Town Square

from Twilight's to try and relieve his stress about the whole situation. He was at the fountain

(which was the center of the square) when he thought he heard somepony cry. "Sounds

familiar," he thought inwardly to himself, but from who he thought it was, he wondered why _she_

of all ponies would cry. He followed the sound to the source, which happened to be a small

isolated area near the outskirts of the square. He recognized the pink fur, pink curly mane and

pink pretty-much-everything-else (except her eyes and mouth for some reason) that was sitting

down with her back turned towards him, hooves covering her teary eyes and her leaning against

a tree.

Regardless of the importance of trying to relieve his own stress, Tails knew that this wasn't right.

He didn't want to see his friends suffer; but always wanted to find a way to make things right,

whole, better than they were before if you will.

He gently nudged Pinkie on the shoulder. "Hey Pinkie. Is

everything ok? Do you feel like telling me what…" before Tails could finish, Pinkie turned

towards him and jerked him over to her body, lovingly embracing him in her arms. Tails was

taken by surprise by this. All she needed was a friend to stick with him? He may not have known

everything about what could have possibly happened to make the "Element of Laughter" to cry

like this; but even though he knew that figuring out _why_ was important, he knew that it was less

Important (in this particular scenario anyway) than _how_ to make her happy again (to make

things right again). His shoulders (by this time) were partially soaked, before he heard Pinkie

start talking. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for _all_ of this!" she said while she was crying, caressing

him all the tighter.

* * *

Tails comforted her while she was in his arms. "Shhh, it's ok Pinkie. It's

alright. It's alright." he said, as he was slowly positioning the pair to where they were both sitting

against the tree.

It took a few minutes for her to stop crying and to regain focus. She saw that Tails was there

with a friendly smile on her face looking at her. "Will you be alright now?" he asked her gently.

Pinkie smiled and nodded. "What was it that you were so upset about?" Tails asked, feeling

like whenever Pinkie started to feel better would be the perfect time to ask her. Pinkie just

drooped her head down dejectedly. "Oh nothing. I just think I'm the worst friend in Equestria,

that's all." Tails was about to interrupt her, but Pinkie just kept going. "I thought I was saving

Twilight from you abusing her when I saw you slap her in the face like that, but there's no way I

would've considered that you were trying to save her from Shadow; and then I had another

incident where I was just chatting with a friend and I think I might have insulted him by mistake

and now he's all mad at me and he shooed me out when I tried to apologize so I've just been

sitting here feeling like wasted junk." Tails was now the one sitting there feeling terrible. One, for

almost actually ruining the problem by speaking up when he should've been quiet (like he was

there); and two, he just felt bad for Pinkie and what she just went through. Before he could

continue with his thought process, another pony entered the picture. "Hey, what's going

on?" a light purple pony who looked and acted similar to Twilight trotted over to the tree where

she heard her two friends talking. Pinkie put on a weak smile and waved towards Starlight

Glimmer. (What? You MLP fans had a good guess on who the "light purple pony who looked

and acted similar to Twilight" was anyway.)

* * *

"Oh, hey Starlight." Tails replied, motioning Starlight

to sit next to them. "I think Pinkie's still feeling bad about how she ransacked me at the

ice-cream parlor and…" Starlight nodded at them. "I heard about that." she said, then turning

towards Pinkie (who still have her hooves over her face in shame). Pinkie then uncovered her

face and looked at her two friends. "I really wanna make it up to you Tails, but I just don't know

how." Pinkie confessed, getting to the real heart of her troubles. Tails just looked at her with

gentle eyes. "I think you already have, Pinkie." Pinkie just stared at him and

shrugged her shoulders in confusion. Starlight then intervened, "What I think he's _trying_ to say,

is that you really don't have to do anything to make it up to him." she said. Pinkie then smiled

and turned to Tails, asking him, "Really? Nothing at all." "Well, saying sorry and offering to make

it up doesn't end everything;" Tails replied, "It just means that you feel bad for what you did and

that you're willing to try and not make those mistakes again." Starlight nodded at him. "That's

right Tails. And part of that is not only being aware of the mistakes you made, but also taking

steps on how to avoid it." she said. Pinkie then brightened back up again. "Ooooh. You know

what?!" she asked the two. Before both of them could respond, the pink party pony scooped

them both up in her arms and gave them a big hug and happily shouted, "I have the _best_ friends

ever, ever, _EVER_!" All Starlight and Tails did was smile in response, because they were happy

that she was happy again.

* * *

However, what all three of them didn't know was that Twilight

happened to be behind them, stealthily watching the whole time. She then happily trotted away

with a bright purple aura over her horn. "And things are this is _exactly_ why I love you, my little

kitsune." she thought to herself as she performed a spell that would let her "capture the

moment" if you will, by placing everything she observed and learned from her observation into

her head for better storage. (Because magic, duh.) "I better head back to my castle so that I can

get that one special spell ready so I can prove to Tails once and for all that I truly truly truly love

him." she thought to herself with glee as she happily bounced (not unlike Pinkie, but with more

of a skip in her step) all the way back home.

* * *

As Pinkie Pie let go of her friends, her complexion lit up like radiant, pink fireworks exploding

across the sky. "I think I know how to _truly_ make it up to him!" she said, back to her overly

overly OVERLY excited self. "And you two are coming with me!" she said, smiling, while

Starlight and Tails looked at each other as if to say, "Who, us?"

* * *

 _Me: Whoa-k, this just got interesting; huh Fluttershy?!_

 _Fluttershy (flying above me, flapping her wings): Yes, but um…_

 _Me: I can't believe my drone caught all that action!_

 _Fluttershy (confused): Your drone?_

 _Me: Yes. You see, this was a gift from friends from another dimension. They programmed it so_

 _that I'm basically the brain behind all of it._

 _Fluttershy: Um, LoveandEdify? You should really see…_

 _Me (joyfully): It writes the story as_ I _would think to write it from how_ I _would observe events, then_

 _sends it to my laptop to distribute. The PERFECT way to write stories from other dimensions_

 _and still live one AWESOME adventure at a time!_

 _Fluttershy: Oh ok, that's really cool. But you should really see…_

 _Me: And the best part is Fluttershy, the drone connects directly to my watch, and then the watch_

 _vibrates if I find strange things…_

 _*watch starts vibrating*_

 _Me: 100 yards away from me. And those figures were what you were trying to tell me about,_

 _weren't you._

 _Fluttershy: *nods*_

 _Me: *checks out drone's live footage* Wait, Pinkie? And Tails? And who's the light lilacy one_

 _again?_

 _Fluttershy: Starlight. Starlight Glimmer._

 _Me: Right right right, thanks._

 _Fluttershy: You put down Pinkie as a Strange Thing on your drone's searching system?_

 _Me: That "searching system" is called radar on my home planet and yes, I did. Why?_

 _Fluttershy: *laughs and smiles* Oh nothing. I was just gonna say that I saw Stranger._

 _Me: *smiles* Oh, I get it. I see what you did there._

 _*Pinkie, Tails and Starlight get closer*_

 _Starlight: It's ok Pinkie, just tell him what you told us._

 _Tails: But not_ exactly _like that though._

 _Pinkie: *nervous* Ri-i-ight. *gulps*_

 _Me: Pinkie, is there something you're trying to tell me?_

 _Pinkie: Well, uh, yes there is._

 _I'msosorrythatImadefunofyouandyourstoryIdidn'treallythinkaboutwhatIwassayingcauseIwasjusttr_

 _Yingtoliftyourspiritsaboutwhatafantasticallyawesomejobyou'redoingandwhatasuperduperaweso_

 _meauthoryouarethatIshould'vethoughtabouthowyouwouldfeeltowardsthatnews. AndI'malso…_

 _Me: *shouts* HOLD ON!_

 _Me: *plays footage, rewinds it, then plays it in slow-mo (or in this case, "normal" speed)*_

 _Pinkie (recorded footage): I'm so sorry that I made fun of you and your story. I didn't really think_

 _about what I was saying 'cause I was just trying to lift your spirits about what a fantastically_

 _awesome job you're doing and what a super-duper-awesome author you are that I should've_

 _thought about how_ you _would feel towards that news. *pauses footage*_

 _Me: You know what, Pink?_

 _Pinkie: *shakes her head*_

 _Me: *smiles* That's all I needed to hear._

 _Pinkie: *smiles* And also, about all the other times I was a real pain in the pants…_

 _Me: Stop. Let me stop you right there. I *sighs* was wrong. About a lot of things. I should've_

 _handled your bounciness and your energy_ WAY _better than I should have. It took a calm,_

 _smooth friend to help me realize this *strokes Fluttershy's mane*; but I was just so focused on_

 _what I had, that I_ really _should have focused on_ who _I had around me and what fun I_ could _have_

 _been having. With friends like you._

 _Pinkie: Really? We're still friends?_

 _Me: We never weren't. I just get really ticked off at certain things at certain times; but that_

 _doesn't mean I hate you. It just means I get angry sometimes. I understand how that can scare_

 _you though; and now_ I _have to apologize for being too explosive at times. *sighs* I just hope_

 _you'll find it in your heart to…_

 _Pinkie: *hugs me* Of_ COURSE _I have it in my heart to forgive you. I know how you can get_

 _annoyed with that stuff sometimes, and I know how stressful your job must be. *happily gasps*_

 _Which is why_ I _have a little something for you. Be right back! :-D :-D :-D_

 _*Pinkie dashes off to get stuff*_

 _Me: *turns to Starlight* So, you must be Starlight, huh?_

 _Starlight: *stammers* Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes. *takes deep breath, calms down* I'm so sorry. I'm_

 _just_ so _excited to meet you. I've heard that you're the A.K. Yearling of the Multiverse._

 _Me: Oh wow, ok. Never heard that one before._

 _Starlight: Ok, that's just me. But still, you're so dang cool!_

 _Me: Yeah, thanks._

 _Starlight: I can totally understand how all of the travel makes it frustrating on you; without all the_

 _stability and everything. I'm proud of how you handled all of that in front of Pinkie._

 _Me: Thanks. I thought it'd be time I found out a way to tell her how I felt, the right way, you_

 _know? I mean it's not like putting a spell on myself to bottle up my emotions and then break the_

 _bottle to unleash it on you and Tails was a bright idea, am I right? *nervously laughs*_

 _Starlight: *nervously laughs* Yeah, let's not bring_ that _up again though, ok?_

 _Me: Fair enough._

 _?: Yoo-hoo!_

* * *

 _All: *turns towards my MLP house*_

 _Trixie: Are you going to stand there, or are you going to see possibly the greatest makeover_

 _EVER?!_

 _Me: Wait, Trixie? Where did you come from?_

 _Trixie: From my parents._

 _Me: *dry-laughs* Seriously though Trix, where did you come from?_

 _Trixie: Well, I was practicing some magic when Pinkie came into my house telling me that there_

 _was a house that_ REALLY _needed a makeover. So I, the Great and Powerful Tr-r-r-r-r-r-rixie,_

 _who also happens to be a great friend to Pinkie and Starlight, hey Star *waves to Starlight, who_

 _waves back* decided to give you a special surprise. The good kind, I promise._

 _Me: *nervously* Ok, then._

 _All: *walks into the house to see turquoise walls cover the living room space, complete with a_

 _fireplace, bookshelf, table, electrical outlet for my laptop charger, and luscious comfortable_

 _sofa.*_

 _Me: *gasps* Wait, you two did this for me?_

 _Pinkie: Of course! You see, Fluttershy told me about how you didn't really have much of_

 _anything because of wall expenses behind the scenes of this chapter that the drone's probably_

 _writing, so I thought I could set you up with some nice stuff. Along with Trixie's help of course._

 _Me: Set me up? I think I could stay awhile. This is all very nice. I can't give my audience a tour_

 _right now because I_ do _need to get my rest; but how about we do that Q &A I promised for the _

_next chapter._

 _Pinkie: Okie dokie loki._

 _Me: In fact, *looking at Trixie, Starlight, Tails and Fluttershy* why don't you_ all _come over for_

 _that._

 _All: *agreeing that it would be a great idea*_

 _Me: Alright. *yawns* In fact, I should rest for a bit, but before I do; I wanna send shoutouts to_

 _Moonlight Arc, sonicspeed6ro and wednesdayponythomasfan for all of their reviews and_

 _contributions to both stories (this one and_ "Determination of the Strong") _, as well as Pinkie and_

 _Trixie for the nice remodel and Fluttershy for making me understand what an idiot I was earlier._

 _Pinkie, Trixie and Fluttershy: You're welcome._

 _Me: Anyhow, if anyone has questions to ask me, Fluttershy, Tails, Trixie, Pinkie Pie or all of us;_

 _or even if you just want to give me your thoughts and opinions so far… *SCREAMS* PUNCH_

 _THE REVIEW AND FAVORITE/FOLLOW BUTTONS IN THE FACE…_ LIKE A BOSS! :-D :-D

:-D

 _*everyone stares at me strangely*_

 _Me: Sorry. Just wanted to pay tribute to Jacksepticeye, who is pretty much the best Youtuber_

 _I've ever seen; so an ADDITIONAL Shoutout to Jackaboy here. And as_

 _always…_

 _All: Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep LoveandEdifying!_

 _Me: See ya next chapter. :-D_


	7. Q&A Chapter

_Me: Ok, so we're all here in my new, beautiful MLP home…_

 _Starlight: Do you really have to say it like that though?_

 _Trixie: Yeah, you know you're in Equestria, right?_

 _Tails: I think he knows they're the same thing._

 _Starlight: Wait, knows what's the same?_

 _Tails: Equestria and MLP._

 _Starlight: Oh, I see, that makes sense._

 _Trixie: Yeah Tails, thanks for 'enlightening' us. Now who wants s'mores?_

 _Me: Oh I'll have_ s'more _of that action._

 _*everyone laughs*_

 _Me: Alright, anyhow we're here in my newly updated home and I heard that Pinkie and Trixie put_

 _some other special quirks in there, which we'll get into later. Speaking of, anybody see Pinkie?_

 _Tails: I heard she said that she had to go back to her home to get some things and then she'll be_

 _back._

 _Me: *sighs* Please not another mallet._

 _Starlight: I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be trying to break your walls agai…_

 _Me: NOT ANOTHER MALLET!_

 _Trixie: I'm pretty sure that Trixie and Pinkie Pie put features in there that please both_

 _LoveandEdify_ and _Pinkie Pie._

 _Tails: Trixie, do you_ always _talk in the third person?_

 _Starlight: She usually doesn't now, she used to_ all… the… time!

 _Trixie: Oh yeah, THAT annoying phase… I'm just glad I have such great friends that were great_

 _and powerful enough to drag me out of such self-centered phasery._

 _*somepony comes out of my basement*_

* * *

 _?: Hey there LoveandAwesomeness!_

 _Me: *sighs* Pinkie?! How did you go through my basement without breaking any walls or_

 _opening the door? And second… what made you decide to paint your mane green?_

 _Pinkie: Oh, I figured you'd like it because apparently Green_ is _Your Color._

 _Me: Well, it looks cool on Sean (aka Jacksepticeye), but probably not on you._

 _Pinkie: *completely ignoring me* Oh, and I can do his intro now too._

 _*whip sound effect*_

 _Pinkie: Top o'the morning to ya bronies, We're LoveandPinkiePie and we're here to answer_

 _you're guys's dangity dang questions about my favorite author's awesome stories, and first off,_

 _we're gonna start with…_

 _*everyone/pony else laughs at the "spectacle"*_

 _Me: *flusteredly and annoyingly confused* Whoa whoa whoa, let me stop you right there. First_

 _off,_ I _wanted to do the intro for this one, and seriously, LoveandPINKIEPIE? Where the_

 _hoofity-hoof did_ THAT _come from?_

 _Trixie: What's the matter Lovey-Dovey? Can't handle a cute little fangirl?_

 _All (except me): Ooooooooh._

 _Me: Oh yeah sure, when I got SatAm Amy Rose's Sister over here! *takes deep breath to_

 _calm down* We'll get to that later, anyhow, like Pinkie said, we are going to answer some_

 _questions you guys sent me in the previous chapter and also get some general questions_

 _answered. So here we go._

* * *

 _*Trixie uses her magic to open a scroll*_

 _Trixie: Ok, this one is from a writer named sonicspeed6ro, who says, "I have a question for_

 _Q &A…"_

 _Pinkie: Well of_ COURSE _he does. EVERYPONY has a question for Q &A. That's what this _

_chapter is for._

 _Me: *annoyed* And building ships that I never thought of building_ or _sailing on, Pinkamena!_

 _Pinkie: What? Don't knock it until you tried it. I'm not gonna let you sink. And if you do, I'll even_

 _sacrifice my lifeboats for you…_

 _Starlight: Uh, let's just get back to the Q &A, Pinkie._

 _*Pinkie nods*_

 _Trixie: Anywho, their questions are, "Q1: Do you plan to make a sequel for '_ Determination of the 

Strong _" and_ "More To Me Than That _" when completed? Or will you focus on LITO, if not_

 _Completed?" and "Q2: What site do you type your documents on? I use Word."_

 _Me: Alright, so to answer the first question, I_ will _be refocusing on_ "LITO: Infinity Rising" _after the_

 _two MLP stories, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to give up on the Sonic-MLP stories_

 _completely. In fact,_ after _the LITO story, I'm going to work on two more Sonic-MLP stories that_

 _follow up this one. In fact, I should just give you guys my potential story order so that we could_

 _get ahead of it._

* * *

LoveandEdify Upcoming Story List (Not Counting Current Ones)

Take a Chance: _A Sonic-MLP (EQG) Story_

Detective Silver: _A Sonic-MLP (FiM) Story…_

* * *

 _Pinkie: Hang on, shouldn't "_ Detective Silver" _be a Pokemon story?_

 _Me: Nope. That title was only_ inspired _by the Pokemon game. So let me lay it down for you, and_

 _let me use this time and space shifting device Cable gave me to literally phase out of the time_

 _and space_ they're _in, and back to where you guys are in._

 _*phase complete*_

 _Me: Ok, so that was fun. Breaking the 5th wall. The 5th wall isn't mine anyway, so yeah._

 _Anyhow, the premise of it is, after_ "More To Me Than That _" Sonic was wanting to go on a new_

 _adventure and Twilight ends up showing him the mirror-portal to the alternate dimension where_

 _the MLP characters are all human. He ends up meeting with the Grand Mistress of Equestrian_

 _Magic and she challenges Sonic to a test during his adventure in the other dimension. But that's_

 _all I can say without spoiling it. "_ Detective Silver" _is what happens back in Equestria while Sonic_

 _is away, but unlike my two current Sonic-MLP stories; they're companion stories, but you don't_

 _have to read one to understand the other or vice-versa. Anyhow, in "_ Detective Silver" _Silver is_

 _trying to solve an ancient mystery as old as time itself in Equestria, but that's all I can say_

 _without spoiling it. Oh, and Mighty and Ray are gonna be in it. But other than that, no more._

 _Pinkie: Oooooh, so_ this _is where you go to talk to all the humans when you don't wanna spoil_

 _the universe for us all, huh?!_

 _Me: *flabbergasted* PINKIE, HOW IN THE UNIVERSE DID YOU EVEN GET IN HERE?!_

 _Pinkie: 'Cause I'm Pinkie Pie. Breaker of walls, explorer of universes, amazing pinkiest party_

 _pony OUT THERE! It'll take a lot more than walls and dimensions to keep us apart._

 _?: Oh, did someone say "Friendship is Magic?"_

 _Me: *facepalms*: Oh my word, it's HIM!_

 _Pinkie: Deadpool, you made it. Welcome to our little skit here._

 _Me: Now hang on a sec, HOW DID_ YOU _END UP HERE?_

 _Deadpool: *riding a 7-headed unicorn that have the heads of kittens, the magical horns if_

 _alicorns, wings of eagles, tails of dogs with spikes of dragons covered in fur and scales. For_

 _some reason, he also has an angel that looks like Taylor Swift wielding a flaming gold sword_

 _sitting right behind him.* Uh, because I can. I do it every second of every day, and because I'm_

 _sure that Clyde S. Dale would want me to check up on some things to say about this planet._

 _And also, we just needed to catch up with Pinkie Pie. My universe-breaking best friend and_

 _fellow mother…_

* * *

 _*LoveandEdify phases back to the MLP dimension*_

 _Me: *thinks internally* OH-K, we'll let those two have their fun. Seriously, if I catch him_ actually

 _swearing in my stories after he specifically promised_ not _to…_

 _Me: Alright, moving on with the story-list…_

* * *

Take a Chance: _A Sonic-MLP (EQG) Story_

Detective Silver: _A Sonic-MLP (FiM) Story…_

Adventures of the Jackaboys: _A Jacksepticeye Story…_

X-Forced: _A Deadpool/X-Force Story…_

Don't Fiddle With It: _A Teen Titans Go! Story (AU)_

Improvise: _A MacGyver Fanfiction_

Return of the Jackaboys: _A Jacksepticeye Story…_

Love In The Outcome (LITO 3): _A Sonic/Zootopia/Multi-Crossover Story_

* * *

 _Updates will be made in my profile as for any more stories/updates, but that's enough for now._

 _Let's move on to another question._

* * *

 _Hey Starlight, who's up next?_

 _Starlight: Oh yes, of course. This one's from Moonlight Arc, who asks, "I'm just wondering, will_

you _show up in the story? Like as an OC? Because you have an interaction with your characters_

 _which I say to myself that somehow you will get 'in' to your own story. .O."_

 _Me: Oh wow. Ok, so first off; thank you for the multiple shoutouts you have given throughout_

your _story,_ "Friendship is Fate", _it's one of my favorite Sonic-MLP reads of all time as it_

 _combines MLP/Sonic content with original Fanfiction content pretty well. It's fun, romantic, all_

" _Friendship is Magic", it's adventure, it's exploration, it's "got ourselves a situation, stuck in a_

 _new location, gotta go fast"; but it also takes itself seriously enough and is bold enough to go_

dark _and not hold back when need be. Anyways, if any of you wanna check it out, the story is_

 _called_ "Friendship is Fate" _by Moonlight Arc and be sure to give Moonlight Arc a nice hug in the_

 _reviews (or that LoveandEdify recommended it to you, whichever one comes first). Anyhow, to_

 _answer the question… what do you think I've been doing?! ;-)_

 _As for the actual story, you'll just have to_

 _keep reading to find out. Thanks for the question though._

* * *

 _Trixie: So, we have no more reviews. What shall we do now?_

 _Starlight: I actually think that this is the part where LoveandEdify would ask questions people_

would _ask, but are too lazy to ask themselves._

 _LoveandEdify: Yeah, like this one. Has anyone seen Tails?_

 _Trixie: *whispers* I really don't think we should disturb Starlight's little friend while he's sleeping._

 _Me: *whispers* What do you mean by that, Trix?_

 _Trixie: *points to Tails who is dead-tired and laying down; sleeping at Starlight's hooves.*_

 _*everyone laughs quietly*_

 _Me: Oh poor Tails. You're pretty tired, aren't you buddy? Here, let's put you on my couch and_

 _hope and pray Twilight wouldn't think anything weird of that whole scene._

 _?: O no, I completely understand what's going on._

 _*Everyone turns to see Twilight*_

 _Me: *nervously* Oh, hey Twilight. You didn't think that Tails was actually trying to, well… You_

 _know…_

 _Twilight: It's ok. I was just coming to check out the new place._

 _Starlight: How long have you been there?_

 _Twilight: Just enough to take a brief tour. It's nice that your friends wanted to build a nice place_

 _for you like this, right?_

 _Me: Oh absolutely. I just wish I knew where to put our buddy here, *points towards Tails* he's a_

 _little tuckered out from all the things that have been running through his head and I just don't_

 _know where to put the little guy._

 _*Pinkie shows up from the basement, with her mane now back to its normal pink*_

 _Pinkie: *quietly screaming (idk how that's possible, and I don't even_ know _if we should ask her)*_

 _Oooh; I know, I know, I know! Why don't we put him on the couch-bed we put down in the_

 _basement?_

 _*everyone stares at Pinkie to try and figure out how Pinkie's doing that, then turn back to each_

 _other*_

 _Twilight *using her magic to levitate Tails*: That's a good idea. I'll take him down there while you_

 _finish your Q &A, alright? I'll see you all later._

 _All *except Tails and Pinkie*: Bye Twilight._

* * *

 _Me: Alright, where were we? Ah yes, do you guys have any questions?_

 _Trixie: I'm sure the Great and Powerful T-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-ixie, would like to know what some of your_

 _favorite moments are of her and Starlight. *drags Starlight to her side*_

 _Me: Oh, ok. You mean you two together, or individually?_

 _Trixie: Together. Because Trixie knows she can't handle her life alone, although she is_ VERY

 _powerful and strong. She needs someone more than me though, someone to…_

 _Me: Let me guess, "Push me to victory?"_

 _Trixie: Well, I was gonna say, "make her life more exciting, useful, meaningful and give me_

 _somepony who gets me every time"; but sure. Let's go with that._

 _Me: Alright. The top 2 moments I remember about you two are when you, Thorax and Discord_

 _all marched into the Changeling Hive to rescue everyone and make the Changelings turn good._

 _The other one is the episode,_ All Bottled Up _, I think that this is the one that just defines you two_

 _the best. Starlight's doing her best not to lose your friendship by, not exactly "putting on a mask"_

 _but still trying to hide her emotions. You want to know the truth and when you figure it out, Trix?_

That _choice, whether you want to continue to be her friend or not, is what sets you two apart._

 _The true friends aren't necessarily the ones that see eye-to-eye, but rather the ones who value_

 _their commitment to each other, and prove it._

KINDA LIKE REAL LIFE (Or how it's _SUPPOSED_ to be, anyway)

* * *

 _Starlight: So, what do you think of Season 8?_

 _Me: I honestly think that the overall idea of it is a two-sided coin. On one side, they have the_

 _right idea in spreading the Magic of Friendship beyond Equestria; but on the other hand, I don't_

 _think a school is the best way to do it. Mainly because it's broad-mannered in itself (what if the_

 _parents of students don't agree, not everyone would attend the school anyway, what about poor_

 _nations that wouldn't have access, etc…); and second, I heard that after Season 9, that will be_

 _the end of "Gen 1" (assumingly meaning, the current generation, which I don't think anyone is_

 _wanting to throw away culturally quite yet.) In order to truly go beyond Equestria, you need to_

 _reach_ all _major issues, be willing to spread this new ideal system across the universe, get_

 _enough planets on board with these ideas and most likely form an interconnected accountance_

 _Network that could alert civilians to help assist each other and themselves, in their newfound_

 _code and issues beyond it. That's how the United Universe is in this story. A way to truly spread_

 _friendship beyond Equestria. As for the Season 8 episodes, I think they're good so far, but I'm_

 _not gonna say anything about it until the season finale. Alright, what else you got._

 _Starlight: Do you think we're gonna be part of a Fanfiction-Universe of some sort?_

 _Me: I'll most likely answer that one later, ok?_

* * *

 _Me: So anyhow, going into some announcements. Sorry I had to be one of "those writers" who's_

 _had to be gone for a while, and I know "life sucks" is a way too used and way too used excuse. I_

 _actually started a new job last week and hours can be a little taxing on me sometimes and I also_

 _have a personal story I've been working on (mainly for enjoyment, it could be a Fanfiction I'll put_

 _on here, but we'll see…) Anywho, next story update is going to be the next chapter of_

"Determination of the Strong", _then_ "LITO: Infinity Rising" _, then_ "More To Me Than That".

 _Anyhow…_

 _Pinkie: I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!_

 _Deadpool: *holds katana towards me* Alright filthbag, what pony business do you_ really _have_

 _going on there with my girlfriend Pinkie Pie, huh? Just what kind of horseplay, huh?_

 _Me: *shocked* Whoa whoa whoa, I_ never _even said Pinkie was my girlfriend; I have no idea_

 _where that even…_

 _Deadpool: AHA! So you_ DO _admit it you_ (bleep) _ing clown! Well, I wonder why I didn't destroy_

 _your walls like I wanted to do for sonicspeed6ro had I known that._

 _Me *anxious*: Hey,_ you _were the one that wanted to be in a universally-famous LoveandEdify_

 _story, don't blame me for that. Second, Pinkie Pie and I are_ not _a thing. I never talked to her_

 _about it, I never discussed it with her, you never even stopped to realize that she might be using_

 _that "thing" to make you jealous._ Ryan _Reynolds!_

 _*door suddenly opens and closes from the wall*_

 _Me: *turns towards Trixie* How in the world did that wall just open and close?_

 _Pinkie: Oh it's VERRRRRRRRRRRRY simple! :-D_

 _*Me and DP turn towards Pinkie*_

 _Pinkie: I know that you get super-duper annoyed easily because your house keeps getting_

 _destroyed every time someone breaks walls, so Tails and I have created a system that, when_

 _someone breaks the fourth wall, the wall just opens to let it through. No damage done, and free_

 _of charge! :-D_

 _Deadpool: See? And you wonder why I don't think Pinkie doesn't have a crush on you. She_

never _built a house for me_ that _fancy or militarized. At least Vanessa would've been able to live_

 _in something like that._

 _Me: Dude, you would've_ wrecked _the walls in a house like that_ AND _you would've convinced_

 _Pinkie to join you each time you broke them anyway AND you didn't catch on that she was just_

 _trying to help a friend out and that she's just trying to make you jealous and…_

 _Deadpool: Ok, normally_ I'm _the most talkative person I know, but_ you _are just so_ (bleep) _ing_

 _annoying right now you a**hat!_

 _Me: *huffs* Whatever, Slade._

 _Deadpool: *gasps*_ WHAT _did you call me?_

 _Me: Yeah, like Will Arnett said, Slade came out_ WAY _before you did, you knockoff!_

 _Deadpool: True, but all that verifies is that just ecause he came first doesn't mean he played_

better _._

 _All *except me and Deadpool*: Oooooh! BURRRRRRRN!_

 _Me *calms down*: Fine, I guess you're right there._

 _Deadpool: That's right, of course I am. Here's another thing I'm right on. *whispers into my ear* I_

 _was just joshing with you, I knew Pinkie wasn't my girlfriend and just a bestie all along._

 _Me: *sighs in relief* Oh thank goodness._

 _Deadpool: *hugs me* I knew she was_ your _girlfriend the whole time you lucky son of a…_

* * *

 _Me: *slips out of the hug and pulls out a gun with tranqs and stars shooting at Deadpool who_

 _immediately slices the incoming bullets with his katanas* LANGUAGE!_

 _Deadpool *when the first load of bullets run out*: Dude, dude; relax… All I wanted to know is if I_

 _could be your best man at the wedding._

 _*another round of shooting and bullet-slicing starts*_

 _Deadpool *as the second round runs out*: Oh, and what do you want your bachelor party to be_

 _like?_

 _*and another round…*_

 _Deadpool: Oh, and also we need to figure out cake for the reception…_

 _*and another round…*_

 _Deadpool: And who's gonna do the music…_

 _*and another round…*_

 _Deadpool: And how many of those tranqs do you even have?_

 _Me *stops shooting for a bit*: Ever since Tails gave me his duplicator, I've been able to make an_

 _endless amount of copies of a lot of things. Like duplicators, their power sources, weapons, and_

 _oh yeah… *reloads the gun and starts shooting for Round 6 as Deadpool continues to perfectly_

 _slice all the bullets* TRANQS FOR DAYS BABY!_

 _Pinkie *loudly*: This might take a while, so I hope you enjoyed everybody here. Including two of_

 _my besties, LoveandEdify and Deadpool!_

 _*Round 6 stops*_

 _Deadpool: See, she even mentioned_ your _name first!_

 _Me: *loads another cartridge* That doesn't mean anything, SL-AAAAAAY-DE!_

 _Tails: Yep, I actually was woken up by those two walking, talking shenanigans. So anyhow,_

 _thanks for joining us for this Q &A, everybody/pony._

 _Starlight: And until next time…_

 _Trixie: Or until Deadpool V. Author: Pointless Feud of "Justice" finishes up…_

 _Me: Keep Loving…_

 _Pinkie: Keep Edifying…_

 _Deadpool: And Keep LoveandEdifying!_

 _All: BYE!_

 _Deadpool: So, you wanna keep going before we hit the sack?_

 _Me: Eh, one more round just for kicks buddy-buddy; then I left that chimichanga recipe on the_

 _fridge for you._

 _Deadpool: :-) Oh_ (bleep) _yeah brotha!_

 _*final round begins, ends, Deadpool and LoveandEdify help clean up the house, then Deadpool_

 _goes back to his home dimension, then LoveandEdify relaxes and gets back to work…*_


	8. Special Christmas Chapter

More To Me Than That: (Special Christmas Chapter)

* * *

 _Hey everyone; sorry it's been a while. I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a_

 _very Happy Holidays._

 _*knock at the door*_

 _Huh, I wonder who that is…_

 _*proceeds to open the door*_

 _?: Hey Lovey Dovey; wake up, because it's MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL_

 _TIME! :-D :-D :-D_

 _Me: Deadpool?_

 _Deadpool: Yeah, who'd you think it was; some kid in a green shirt with a blue lab dog?_

 _Me: Uh…_

 _Deadpool: Anywho, I got invited over for a VERY SPECIAL Christmas party down at Cable's_

 _and we're gonna have so much mother(bleep)ing good-hearted holiday fun!_

 _Me: Wow, so is that my invitation in there?_

 _Deadpool: Whoa whoa whoa there Buttercup; first off, "we're" means the people who were_

 _actually invited. Second, why do you think Cable would invite you_ _to_ his _party anyway? I would_

 _totally (bleep)ing invite you if it was_ my _party, but it was our friendly neighborhood cyborg X-pal_

 _just didn't want to invite you is all._

 _Me *a little dejected*: Oh, I see._

 _Deadpool: Anyhow, just came to deliver this letter. Hopefully that'll cheer you up. *teleports_

 _away*_

 _Me: Huh, it doesn't say who sent me this. *proceeds to open the letter*_

 _Me *reading the letter*: "_ Meet at Whitetail Woods. In case you forgot, a map is on the back of

the letter. - Friend."

 _Me: *sighs* Might as well. Like I got plans now anyway._

* * *

 _About 20 minutes later…_

* * *

 _Me: Hmmm… I wonder what I'm supposed to find… *finds a white envelope taped to a tree*_

 _Me *rips open envelope and reads*:_ "Take five normal steps forward, then turn around."

 _Me: Alright then… *takes five normal steps, then turns around to find… *_

 _Me: Oh, wow. Hi Pinkie._

 _*Pinkie waves one hoof and holds medium-sized white signs with the other*_

 _Me: Glad you're wearing a jacket; especially with all the snow and…_

 _*Pinkie puts her free hoof over her mouth in a "shush" position*_

 _Me: Ok, then._

 _*Pinkie puts the signs in her jacket pocket except one*_

 _Pinkie *smiling happily*: *her first sign reads;_ "SAY IT'S CHRISTMAS CAROLS AND PINKIE

PIES"*

 _Me: Uh, ok…_

 _Pinkie *giving a more ticked off look*: *next sign reads;_ "JUST SAY IT!"

 _Me: Alright… *reads from the sign*_ "IT'S CHRISTMAS CAROLS AND PINKIE PIES"

 _*Pinkie is back to her smiling, friendly demeanor as she holds up the next sign*_

 _Me: *reading from the sign*_ "AND PUMPKIN SPICE"

 _*next sign*_

 _Me: *reading from the sign*_ "AND ALL THINGS THAT ARE NICE"

 _*next sign*_

 _Me: *reading from the sign*_ "YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING MO..." _*stops when I_

 _realize that that was a direction* Oh, sorry._

 _*Pinkie smiles and holds up her next sign that reads,_ "THAT'S OK. :-D"

 _*Pinkie's face becomes more empathetic as her next sign reads:_ "I KNOW YOU CAN GET

STRESSED, DISCOURAGED, AND SOMETIMES LIFE CAN COME IN AND BREAK YOU

DOWN."*

 _Me: "Yeah, it does. It really does."_

 _*next sign reads:_ "AND I KNOW THAT WHEN THOSE TIMES COME, YOU JUST FEEL LIKE

YOU WANT TO GIVE UP AND BUNKER DOWN IN A LITTLE HOLE IN THE GROUND."*

 _Me: "Hmph, tell me about it."_

 _*Pinkie takes a nervous breath as she shows her next sign:_ "BUT THIS TIME OF YEAR IS

ABOUT TELLING THE TRUTH."

 _Me *nervous*: Ok._

 _*next sign:_ "AND THE TRUTH IS…"*

* _Pinkie smiles as she holds up the next sign, which reads:_ "I LOVE YOU, LOVEANDEDIFY!

:-D"

 _Me *joyful and touched*: "Awe, Pinkie."_

 _*next sign reads:_ "YOU'VE PROVEN THAT YOU ARE MORE THAN WHAT THE ODDS HAVE

MADE YOU TO BE."*

* _next sign_ : "SURE, LIFE IS HARD AND YOU HAVE TO BACK AWAY; BUT AT LEAST YOU'RE

AWARE OF IT."

 _*next sign:_ "YOU DON'T ESCAPE, YOU REFLECT. YOU INSPIRE PEOPLE TO BE THE BEST

VERSIONS OF THEMSELVES IN A WAY THEY CAN UNDERSTAND."*

* _Pinkie puts down the signs for a moment and jumps up and down happily*_

 _Me: *laughs happily*_

 _*Pinkie stops bouncing and holds up the next sign, which reads:_ "AND YOU KNOW WHAT?"

 _Me: "What?"_

 _*Pinkie still smiles but her eyes well up with happy tears as she throws away all the signs*_

 _Pinkie *happy and teary-eyed*: "Because you inspire me too."_

 _Me: "Awe, Pinkie. I didn't know that's how I made you feel."_

 _Pinkie: "So I know you want us to be just friends and that we should get to know each other_

 _better, which is fine because I'm looking forward to getting to have so much more fun with you_

 _anyway." *pauses for a moment, then resumes* "Always remember though…" *proceeds to_

 _hug/tackle LoveandEdify to the ground.* "I love you, friend."_

 _Me: "Awe, Pinkie." *hugs her back* "I love you too."_

 _*the two break from the embrace and Pinkie proceeds to help LoveandEdify up*_

 _Me: "Thanks for doing this for me. I never really knew how much you felt until then."_

 _Pinkie: "Pshaw, I was planning on doing it for you anyway; but I didn't know when. That's when I_

 _saw Deadpool on his way and asked him if he could deliver that letter for me."_

 _*both smile at each other*_

 _Pinkie: "Now, I'm Not Asking For Trouble ;-) , but I_ do _know that the bakery has some hot cocoa_

 _and I was wondering if you'd be someone I could share it with. As friends, of course. *laughs_

 _nervously*_

 _Me: "I understand. And of course I'll share some with you."_

 _Pinkie: *happily screeches* "We might need to hurry so we can get there before it gets dark._

 _Come on LoveandFriend!"_

 _*the two friends walk out of the woods and towards Ponyville*_

* * *

 _*Meanwhile… on the other side of Ponyville*_

* * *

 _Cable: So you basically lied to him so that you could matchmake those two?_

 _Deadpool: Well; lied to him, passed on a letter Pinkie wanted me to anyway, diverted him away_

 _from our party so he wouldn't get distracted; whatever you wanna call it._

 _Cable: You IDIOT! I'm pretty sure once he finds out, he'll be…_

 _*Deadpool teleports Cable to the Bakery where they see LoveandEdify and Pinkie make happy_

 _talk while enjoying two large mugs of cocoa*_

 _Deadpool: He'll be… what?_

 _Cable: *realizes what's going on* Oh._

 _*Deadpool and Cable teleport back to their own party*_

 _Deadpool: Anyhow, since I'm closing off for LovenStuff here; next chap's gonna come sooner_

 _than you think, the Sonic/Zootopia story's gonna be next, blah blah blah blahdiddy (bleep)idy_

 _blah blah blah._

 _Cable: Wade, who are you talking to?_

 _Deadpool: None of your (bleep)ing business, Thanos._

 _Cable: Enough cursing me out, Pikachu. You're lucky that Domino didn't start the music yet or…_

 _*Domino then turns on a DJ and she gets the party started*_

 _Domino: Hey Ryan, Josh; Start of Music, Start of Party, End of Chapter. Let's GO! :-D_

 _Deadpool: Coming Zazie Beats! :-D_

 _Deadpool: *hugs Cable, happily* And_ that's _why I'm so_ lucky _to have friends like you. :-D :-D :-D_

 _Cable *confused and flustered*: What did I do to deserve this?_

 _Deadpool: Just being your awesome self, Summers. Just being your awesome self. :-D_


	9. Chapter 7: A Friendly Surprise

_Hey everyone, I know it's been a while; so_ yes _, Pinkie FINALLY got her guest room finished, I'm_

 _back to writing after a nice long hiatus, and honestly, I haven't seen or heard from Pinkie at all_

 _today. Huh, I wonder if that means she's hiding around the house someplace. *proceeds to_

 _check the house* Huh, no-show this time? Oh well, that's ok. She'll probably turn up in the next_

 _chapter. So, this one's going to have Rainbow Dash as the main character._

 _Buckle up fillies and colts 'cause it's gonna be AWESOME! :-D :-D :-D_

More To Me Than That

Chapter 7: A "Friendly" Surprise

(Day 3)

It was about 11 o'clock the next morning over at Seaward Shoals. The sand was white as

crystal; you could practically feel the gems of the sand as you'd walk or run along it.

The weather was warm and sunny, but breezy; making it the perfect day to go kitesurfing if a

certain pegasus wanted to.

Instead, she was preoccupied with more pressing issues.

Rainbow didn't exactly have an easier time thinking of exactly _what_ to put down for her video

because there were simply a _lot_ of things she liked about Sonic. The two were similar in almost

every aspect of the word; but this was her _best_ friend she was talking about. Just "enough"

wouldn't do it for her. She needed to prove that she was the best, because her friend was the

best; therefore proving herself to be the best, most spectacular, most _awesome_ pony and friend

for the _best_ friend out there. She was stressed out of her brains thinking about what she was

going to write for Sonic, when all of the sudden; a familiar black-and-red hedgehog teleported in

front of her. "You!" Rainbow Dash screamed in alert anger. She flew charging at Shadow, but

he quickly evaded the attack. "I've got a message from Applejack, Rainbow." Shadow shouted

to the filly who was lifting her face out of the sand after taking that tremendous

swing-and-a-miss of a tumble. She turned and saw Shadow waving a message in the air with

his left hand like it was an olive branch and flew aggressively back over to him "Why didn't you

hand it to Sonic or Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, confused? "I went to Fluttershy's first, she told

me that you were going windsurfing for the day. I already talked to Sonic about it last night.

Besides; I'd much rather deliver it to you in person anyway." He explained, handing her the letter

and teleporting away, without any further explanation. She quickly tore open the envelope and

quickly read the contents of the letter.

* * *

" _Howdy Dash,_

 _Listen, I know I didn't make things clear about me and Shadow; but you sped off before I could_

 _say anything._

 _Now don't feel bad or sorry for yourself in_ any _way. I'd rather you fly away and catch your breath_

 _than do something you gonna regret later._

 _Anywho, I think Shadow isn't as bad as you'd make him out to be…"_

* * *

"Make him _out_ to be?" Rainbow questioned, repeating that last line in shock. "He's _everything_

I've made him out to be!" She said in anger, about to throw the letter but controlling herself

enough to read on anyway.

* * *

" _I know he's upset about him and Twilight breaking up, but I think there's more bugging him than_

 _that._

 _I think somepony needs to show him the magic and power of friendship firsthand, and that_

 _someone's gonna be me. I really care about him; but I also really care about you as well._

 _That's why by the time you read this, I'll be gone with Shadow on an adventure to…"_

* * *

Rainbow didn't even bother reading the rest of it as she flew, letter in hand, as quick as her

wings could carry her over to Sweet Apple Acres, with bottomless concern for her friend

fueling her all the way.

When she got there however, she wasn't able to find Rainbow Dash anywhere. She screamed

in agony and frustration. "I knew I shouldn't have wasted my time reading that _stupid_ letter!"

she cried out, with tears in her eyes as she was kneeling down in front of the pigpen, bawling

her eyes out in tears of deep concern for her friend. She cried for a few seconds until the

tears subsided.

* * *

It was then that Rainbow noticed a familiar gloved hand was on her back. She

turned to see Sonic kneeling right next to her with a friendly, welcoming smile in support and

empathy. Rainbow jumped back a bit. "Oh, Sonic!" she screamed in surprise. "I didn't know

you were here, I mean… you didn't see _all_ of that, did you?" she asked, grinning nervously.

Sonic just shrugged, then walked right back to her again. "Oh, that's alright. You know that it's

good to let a few tears out every now and again, right?" he asked in a calm, caring way. "I

don't mind at all." Rainbow sighed in relief, grateful that her friend wasn't showing judginess or

thinking any less of her. "Now if you got all my fur wet though…" Sonic said, in an obviously

joking manner. He smirked in a mischievous way that made Rainbow couldn't help but laugh a

little. She embraced her friend close and tightly. Not tight as if you needed a crowbar to pry them

apart; but tight enough in the way that you should hold a live bird in your hands. Not too soft for

it to fly away; not too hard so you would hurt or kill it. _Just_ right. Sonic returned the friendly

embrace and then they broke from it. "So you said something about a little windsurfing, Dash?"

Sonic asked her. Rainbow forgot that that was what she was going to do before all of this

happened. She was going to offer Sonic to come along, but then realized that he can't swim.

"I… ah… er?!" Rainbow stammered, clearly looking for the right thing to say. "Don't worry,

Dash." Sonic interrupted, "It'll be fun. Besides, if I ever get bored; I could just run on the beach."

he said, with a smile. Rainbow just stared into blank space rather confused at what was going

on. "Come on, Dash; we have a beach to crash!" he said, as he carried off the unsuspecting

pegasus and whisked her off to the beach where she was at earlier.

* * *

 _Back at the Beach (again)..._

* * *

"Well whaddya say, Dash?" Sonic asked. Rainbow looked at Sonic and saw that she was back

on the beach with her kitesurfing stuff in hand. She was confused. She was grateful that Sonic

was being so kind to her, she really was. But is this something he actually wanted to do today?

Before she could think about it, she saw Sonic wave and hear him yell, "Hang tight!" Then she

saw him run around the beach and _then_ knew what was coming. She quickly unfurled her wings

as Sonic created a massive gust of wind with her speed. She caught the wind with her wings

and surfed along on the water with her board; however she realized that that wasn't needed as

the wind was so powerful that it picked her up right out of the air, board and all. Rainbow was

trying to fly back towards the water, but the board on her feet made it tricky. Sonic saw the

struggle that was going on, and (in spite of himself) ran backwards (for momentum) and then

forwards at a radically fast pace to make a leaping attempt to catch her. Meanwhile, Rainbow

Dash was struggling to get the board off from her feet until she calmed down, then flew

upside-down and was able to unstrap the board and get herself back into a normal flying

position. Unfortunately for Sonic, the moment she unstrapped the board was right when he

thought he was going to grab her to prevent her from drowning; resulting in the board hitting him

softly on the head and having Sonic fall. "NO!" Rainbow shouted in worry. She was able to

knock the board out of the way and grab Sonic when he was just about waist-deep in the water.

Once she caught him, she immediately flew him back over to the shore and put him down gently

on the ground next to some logs that the two sat down and leaned against.

"What was _that_ for?!" Rainbow asked, in a tone that was shocked, but not

cross. "I did it to save your flank after your feet got stuck on the board! I didn't know you were

free until literallyright _after_ you freed yourself!" Sonic said, clearly worried about his friend's

safety. "Sonic, you know I _could've_ gotten this off myself, right? I was just struggling for a bit in

Mid-air!" Rainbow asked, annoyed that her friend didn't seem to get the point. They both knew

what the other was capable of, and one of them saving the other seemed to be so normal. The

pair then calmed down as not to make matters any worse between the two. Sonic then sighed,

"Yeah, you're right." he said, apologetically, "I just

didn't wanna see my best friend drown when I had a chance to save them." Sonic then closed

his eyes and dropped his head towards the ground. He immediately looked back up to his friend

when he felt her hoof on her shoulder. He turned to see Rainbow looking at

him with an empathetic smile on her face. Her eyes didn't have tears, but they did look upon her

friend with sympathetic compassion. He couldn't help but smile back in response, soaking up

the happiness the moment had brought them.

The next thing he noticed was that her arms were wrapping

around him in a hug; a hug, which he decided to embrace as well. When the two broke the

embrace, Rainbow finally broke the silence. "Sonic, thank you so much for caring about me;"

she said, in a grateful tone. Her countenance then changed into a serious/concerned one. "But

don't feel like you have to run around Equestria trying to prove it, ok? I mean, I'm grateful that

you're loyal enough to not leave me or your friends hanging when the moment depended on it;

but I don't want you to be the one who gets hurt either."

* * *

She paused for a moment, to try and come up with the

right words; then sighed deeply before continuing, "So, from now on; if a situation like this

happens, and you _can't_ save me for _any_ reason, Just run and go get Twilight or Tails or _anyone_

to help you out. Because even though I know that you're willing to lay it all down for me;" she

started, as tears form into her eyes and a crack started to form in her voice as

she said the next words, "You mean so much More to Me Than That." Rainbow ruffled up her

friend's quills to which Sonic responded with a friendly nudge on her chin. "Thanks Rainbow."

Sonic responded gratefully to her. Rainbow then flew up a few feet up in the air. "You're

welcome." She responded, "Now, if we're done feeling sorry for ourselves, there's something I

wanted to show you."

* * *

 _Up in Cloudsdale…_

Now, I know what you're thinking, " _But, Sonic's_ been _to Cloudsdale before… what the_

 _coinky-dink made them decide to go up there?_ " I'm glad you asked over-assumptive reader. No,

Sonic actually hadn't been to Cloudsdale yet and since Rainbow was planning on staying there

the rest of the week to prepare for that year's Equestria Games anyway, she figured that she

could take him out for a day on the town. ( _Seriously, for the_ ump _teenth time, they're_ FRIENDS!

 _Friends can do hanging out whenever they want and it_ doesn't _have to be a date_!) "So Sonic,

now that I flew you _all_ the way up here for a day of fun, what do you wanna do?" Rainbow asked

enthusiastically, _finally_ going to hang out with Sonic on _her_ playground. "You know, you _could_

join us for a bit, Rainbow _Crash_." The two turned around to see a yellow mare with what looked

like an MLP version of an Air Force jacket and aviator sunglasses on her head. The other one

kind of looked like Sonic, if his main fur color was white and his mane and tail colors were blue.

Sonic didn't know _either_ of these two; because although he _heard_ of some of Rainbow's friends

outside the Mane 6, he didn't actually _see_ all of them. "Sonic, this is Spitfire; Head-Captain of

the Wonderbolts." Rainbow said, introducing Sonic to her friend. Spitfire took off the sunglasses

to reveal orange, sunset colored eyes

underneath, smiled with her mouth closed and offered her hoof for Sonic to shake, which he

took. "Rainbow Dash told me a lot about you, kid. I'm honored to meet a hero such as yourself."

she said, with reverence and respect. "Thanks. Rainbow told me a lot of great things about you

as well; but please, call me Sonic." he said, proving that he was genuinely happy to meet them.

Spitfire then motioned to the stallion next to her. "And this is my coltfriend, Soarin." Sonic then

went over to Soarin and the two shook hands; glad to have finally met. "Oh yes, and this her

coltfri…" Rainbow started, but then shook her head in disbelief. "WHAT?!" she shouted, caught

 _completely_ off guard about what was happening.

* * *

 _Next Stories Updated On Deck:_

Love In The Open: Infinity Rising

Determination of the Strong

More To Me Than That

 _Happy New Year everybody/pony/bronie/whatever._ Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep

LoveandEdifying! _Bye for now. :-D :-D :-D_


	10. Relations Shipped, Relations Sank

More To Me Than That

Chapter 8: Relations Shipped; Relations Sank

While Rainbow Dash was in shock of the developments surrounding her two friends officially

being a thing; Twilight was eagerly trotting around Ponyville trying to find Spike to tell him the

good news about her idea to show Tails her love for him. Once she got home and went into her

living room, she saw the weirdest and funniest thing she ever saw in a long time.

Instead of just one Spike dusting off an

emerald couch, there were two. And for some weird reason, both Spikes had _two_ Tails. She

couldn't help but laugh at the strange sight. "You must've noticed the tails." Both Spikes said

simultaneously while staring at her with blank expressions on their faces; causing her to laugh

even more. The laughter caused a familiar pony to appear from the downstairs basement.

* * *

 _Meanwhile… in Cloudsdale…_

"Well, pleased to meet you Soarin. Rainbow Dash told me a lot about you." Sonic greeted his

new friend politely. "And the same can be said for the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog. She says

that you're the best friend she ever had since…" Soarin started, then paused, pretending to

think hard. "Since you?" Sonic asked. The two friends and Spitfire laughed over that joke. "Hey,

Soarin and I were gonna head over to the Skypad if you and Rainbow wanna come along."

Spitfire graciously offered. "Sure, that sounds like fun." Sonic responded, "Whaddya say,

Rainbow?" Sonic asked. He then turned to see his friend stare opposite them with a blank stare

and her mouth ajar, clearly shocked at something. "Rainbow?" Sonic asked, trying to get his

friend's attention.

* * *

 _So, back to Twilight…_

Or should we say, Starlight? Who was coming up the stairs when she heard Twilight's laugh. "I

guess you saw Spike and I's little surprise?" she said, rather embarrassed. Even though even

 _she_ had to admit it was a _hilarious_ mishap. "What were you two up to?" Twilight asked, slowly

regaining her composure after spending a good while laughing. "You tell her." Starlight said,

pointing to the two Spikes. "Who, me?" the first Spike asked, looking at the other in confusion.

The other Spike turned to him and said, "I think she was talking to you." Starlight hoofpalmed

herself in frustration. "You see, Spike came up with the idea of trying to surprise you by

pretending to be Tails so that you could practice to impress him but then, well…"

* * *

 _Back to Sonic, RD and friends…_

"Wait, what?" Rainbow said, snapping herself out of her state of shock. "You wanna go have

dinner with Spitfire and Soarin?" Sonic asked her. "They just asked us and I need to know what

you think." Rainbow stuttered momentarily before responding, "Oh yeah, sure. We'll catch up

with you two." she told Soarin and Spitfire. Soarin and Spitfire nodded and went ahead of their

friends into the Skypad Restaurant. "This is so _weird_!" she whispered to Sonic in a ticked tone.

"What's so weird about it? Your best pony friend has a new marefriend. I'm sure you'll find a

great one someday too." Rainbow was about to interject, but then changed her mind as to not

make it any more awkward for Sonic than it already was getting to be. "Yeah, I'm sure I will.

Let's just head inside, ok?" she asked Sonic. The two then eventually caught up to Spitfire and

Soarin at the Skypad. As they walked into the regal eatery, the first thing Sonic noticed that

there were a lot of fast flyers in the building; as if they were flying in and out of some kind of

racetrack gambling booth (although the line was _clearly_ for superfast and elite athletes due to

the style of the line.) A waitress wearing a fancy white dress stepped forward towards the pair.

"Hello, I'm Whiteflank; I'll be your host today." she said, grinning at them politely. The young

mare looked to be slightly older than Sonic and Rainbow Dash, but only by a couple years. She

looked rather eccentric compared to all the other ponies Sonic glanced at when he was

observing all the griffons, pegasi and other flying creatures he saw in there. "Thanks Whiteflank,

I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. We're here to see Spitfire and Soarin. Have you seen them?" Sonic

politely responded back. Whiteflank chuckled, not expecting this sort of courtesy from someone

before. "Yes I have," Whiteflank replied, "In fact, they're over in Booth 1A, waiting for you. Allow

me to walk you over to your table." she said. The two obliged and were escorted over to their

table. Sonic was catching a vibe that reminded him of Rarity. Except that even though she was

refined and polite, she clearly wasn't _extreme_ at being fancy like Rarity. Whiteflank seemed like

the mare who is refined, can keep up with the rough and tough colts and mares and still be kind

and courteous enough to take you out to a coffee to make you feel better. "And this is your table,

Sonic and Rainbow. I hope you two have a wonderful day." She said, as she finally let them to

their seats where Soarin and Spitfire were patiently waiting for them. "There you two are."

Spitfire said in relief. "We thought you guys were too slow to catch up." She said in an obviously

sarcastic, joking manner. All of them halfheartedly laughed at the joke.

* * *

 _Back to Twilight…_

"I think I get the point here." Twilight said, chuckling a bit. "It'll take a while to get it back to just

 _one_ Spike though." one of the Spikes said. Starlight looked down at the ground in

embarrassment. Twilight gently trotted over to her. "It's alright. I knew you two were only trying

to help." She said, sympathetically. "Besides, I have my _own_ great spell idea to help Tails know

how much I love him." she said, "But our author buddy can't go revealing it until I give him the

ok." she said, winking at… Oh yeah. Right. Me. Anywho, I'll be on my way (hoping things go

well)...

* * *

 _So back to Sonic and Dash, because, what other choice do we have at this point…_

* * *

As the foursome sat down eating and making happy conversation, Sonic just sat down and

soaked up the atmosphere. His best friend took him to Cloudsdale, having a pleasant and

relaxing dinner with some new friends as well. What could go better? For Rainbow, however,

things were getting very tense. On one hoof, she was glad that her 3 friends were having fun;

and she really did try to have fun and laugh in all of their jokes. Yet she couldn't shake off of the

feeling of surprise and disappointment. Soarin was a main (mane) reason that Rainbow wanted

to join the Wonderbolts. She grew up idolizing the group from a fairly early age; and sort of

fangirled over Soarin in particular, but it was later on when she really considered the possibility

that her feelings towards him were more than that of a "fan" but more of that of a respected

friend or sister, but most of all, a crush. Rainbow really did appreciate Soarin's friendship, and

she was hoping to wait for the right time to tell Soarin about her feelings. But as Sonic liked to

frequently taunt when he and Rainbow raced, she was too slow. And now, she saw what being

"slow" did to her chances. "Is something wrong, Rainbow?" Rainbow snapped out of her trance

to see her friends staring at her in concern. "Huh?! What was that?" She asked, snapping back

into reality. Soarin then spoke up. "Sonic just asked if something was wrong; you were sitting

there with a blank-flank expression and you didn't even tell us what you wanted for dinner yet."

he asked, genuinely concerned about his friend's well-being. "Right, sorry; it's just that…"

Rainbow awkwardly stammered, then paused before resuming, "Would you mind if I talked to

you for a minute?" Rainbow asked. Soarin looked over at Sonic and Spitfire, "Yeah, go ahead."

Spitfire affirmed, "Just make sure you don't help our friend _too_ much." she said, winking towards

him on that last part. "Will do, beautiful." Soarin responded, stroking his main to punctuate it as

Rainbow just shook her head in disdain. Sonic was about to go after Rainbow, but Spitfire

stopped him, saying, "Hey, I think those two can handle themselves just fine." Sonic reluctantly

sat back down and agreed. "Sorry," Sonic said apologetically, "she's just been acting strange

ever since you two walked up. Not that you two were _trying_ to be rude, by any means." Spitfire

just smiled, understandingly, at him. "Yeah, I think it's when I revealed that Soarin and I were

dating that things kind of flew sideways from there." she said. "Rainbow liked him too, huh?"

Sonic guessed. "Rainbow tell you about that?" Spitfire asked, guessing whether or not Sonic

knew about her friend's interest in Soarin. "Well, she told me about her and Soarin being tight,"

Sonic admitted, "I didn't know she was _that_ into him." Spitfire's countenance then turned into

that of pity. Sonic was confused as to why that happened. "Is something wrong, Spitfire?"

Spitfire nodded. "I just feel bad that she didn't tell you about this sooner." she said,

sympathetically. "About what sooner?" Sonic asked. "Her being in love with Soarin." Spitfire

responded. Sonic put his hands back in realization, knowing _very_ well where _this_ was going.

"Wait a minute… you're not saying that…"

* * *

 _I'm_ NOT, _Sonic! We're just gonna go over to Rainbow Dash and Soarin for a while, see what_

 _they did while all that was going on…_

"So, Rainbow; care to fill me in on what's... " Soarin asked in concern, before being interrupted

by Rainbow suddenly crying softly and hugging Soarin. "I loved you too." she said, gently

whispering to Soarin before breaking from the embrace and getting up. He just stared at her

with an expression as blank as a new whiteboard. Rainbow sighed in relief, grateful to get that

off of her chest. "Well, thank you for letting me say that." Rainbow said gratefully. She was about

to head back to the seat, but was immediately caught by Soarin. "Whoa whoa whoa. Hold up,

Rainbow Dash." Soarin said, still in shock as to what happened. "You _loved_ me too? I mean,

how did that even…?" "Look, before I joined the Wonderbolts, I saw you flying up there with

them doing the most awesome spectacular stunts while you were flying right over my head and

since then, I've wanted to be a Wonderbolt. But as I came to know you better, I could see that

you were the most awesome horse ever and I was looking forward to making you my coltfriend

for some time." Rainbow's tone then changed from that of excitement to that of heartbreak. "But

I waited and waited so long for _just_ the right time, that I struck out. And now here I am never

knowing… never known…" At this point in time, Rainbow was just flat-out in tears. Soarin lifted

her up gently to his level and gave her a sympathetic hug. As soon as Rainbow started crying,

Soarin heard the footsteps of Sonic and Spitfire coming from behind him. "It's ok, Rainbow."

Soarin said, calming her down and easing her pain. He briefly turned towards Sonic and Spitfire

and asked them if he could have a few more minutes. They both agreed, but stayed close by in

case either Soarin or Rainbow needed help. "You know what I think, Rainbow? I think that, no

matter who I fall in love with, I'll still always love you." Rainbow buried her head in his chest

crying much happier tears now. "Really? You think so?" Rainbow asked. Soarin nodded. "Look, I

love Spitfire, and I am the luckiest colt in the world to have her as my marefriend; but that

doesn't mean I'll stop being your friend and loving you. Ok?" he asked. Rainbow nodded and

then broke from her embrace.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic and Spitfire both sighed in relief that their

friends were feeling much better and they walked back to their table because the waiter needed

to know their order. "So, Speedy," Spitfire asked, "right before we went to check in on them; you

said that you needed my help because you two put on a friendship bet?" "Yeah, that's right…"

Sonic affirmed, but before he could continue, he was quickly interrupted by her. "Have you tried

talking to Twilight? She _is_ the Princess of Friendship after all." Sonic sighed in dejection. "She

was the first one I asked, but she's got her own things to worry about." "Getting the Week of

Elements set up, no doubt." Spitfire guessed. Before Sonic could respond, Whiteflank strode up

to the table, "Yeah, I know what it's like to be busy with all of the stress." she concurred. Then

she turned to see Soarin and Rainbow finishing up. "Are your friends ok? Are they ready to eat

now?" she asked. "I don't know, I'll ask." Sonic responded. "Hey guys, are you ready to come…"

But before Sonic could respond, Rainbow and Soarin were already over there. "You bet, Sonic."

Soarin said, clearly relieved and pleased about everything being cleared up about Rainbow.

"Now, what's on the menu, Whitey?!" Rainbow asked, in a obviously pumped-up kind of way.

* * *

 _A few hours later…_

After they finished eating, the quartet went out their separate ways towards the ways towards

the hotel they were all staying in for the night. Before they all said their goodbyes, Soarin

whispered one last bit of wisdom into Rainbow's ear. "The next guy that's special in your heart; if

you keep waiting until the 'right' moment, the moment's never gonna be right." Rainbow kept

that in mind as the four friends finally walked up to their hotel after a very delicious meal. "But

how do I know when the "right" moment is?" Rainbow thought internally, "I hope I can find out

how to tell you how much I appreciate you, Sonic. It would be the most spectacular, awesomest,

epicest way ever. Because that's what you are." she spoke internally in excitement, before

realizing (in her head), "If only I _could_ know how."

* * *

 _Alright everyone, so this is actually a special Valentine's Day chapter (in a way). You'll see. ;-)_

 _Oh, Pinkie-Pie?! Where ARE you?_

 _You see, I have a little something special for our energetic, pink_

 _horsey friend here, but I actually haven't seen her all day. Anyhow, while I wait, I wanna…_

 _*gets tackled by you know who…*_

 _Pinkie *in a Western accent*: Alright there pardner. Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY?!_

 _Me: Oh, hey Pinkie. Nice cowgirl duds._

 _Pinkie: Thanks, I had Rarity hoof-make these for me once I found out that you wanted to have a_

 _shootout._

 _Me: A_ WHAT _?!_

 _Pinkie: You know, those old Western showdowns where they take 10 paces back to see who's_

 _the fastest._

 _Me: Pinkie…_

 _Pinkie *completely ignoring me*: And I've got your costume all nice and ready right here for ya._

 _*tosses costume at… oof*_

 _Me: That's nice, but Pinkie…_

 _Pinkie: So I have the blanks and pistols all set up for ya so that we can have a rootin'-tootin',_

 _licker-splootin', scalderootin, extra-scoopin'..._

 _Me *stern*: PINKIE-PIE!_

 _Pinkie *_ finally _drops the accent*: Yes, super-special-awesome-author-pal?_

 _Me: You misunderstood me…_

 _Pinkie *interrupts*: I'm_ pretty _Pinkie sure that you said you wanted to have a shootout._

 _Me *annoyed that she didn't get it*: No, I said I wanted to do a_ SHOUTOUT _before I make a_

 _special announcement._

 _Pinkie: OH! :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D Well, why didn't you just say so. Who're the shoutouts to?_

 _Me: This go around, I want to send a shoutout to wendsayponythomasfan for helping me get_

 _some information about Rainbow and Soarin, as well as being an amazing helper throughout_

 _and putting me in their story,_ "The Adventures of Pinkie Pie and Shadow the Hedgehog _._ "

 _Pinkie: Ooooooooooh, how fascinating. Sounds like a great read._

 _Me: Indeed it is. Also, shoutouts to leatherhead2020 and Moonlight Arc_

 _for their respective stories, "_ My Little Pony: Sonic in Equestria" _and_ "Friendship is Fate". _All 3 of_

 _these stories, as well as their authors, deserve a huge round of applause for their efforts and I_

 _am looking forward to seeing_ all _of those stories updated real soon._

 _Pinkie: So, what was that_ other _announcement you were going to make? Y'know, the one before_

 _I started going all cowgirl crazy on you?_

 _Me *nervous*: Right…_ that _one. Oh boy._

 _Pinkie: Ooooooooooooooooooh, I am so dying to know what it is! :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D_

 _Me: Right, well, it's, uh… a bit hard for me to expl-_

 _Pinkie *shakes me violently with her hooves*: JUST TELL ME ALREADY!_

 _*a small, red colored envelope with Pinkie's name on it falls out of my coat pocket*_

 _Pinkie: *picks up the envelope and opens it and gasps with… Idk, I just hope it turns out-* WILL_

 _YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?!_

 _Me *nervous*: Oh boy._

 _Pinkie: I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I_ LOVE _IT!_

 _Me: So you wanna go wi… ? *gets tackled again*_

 _Pinkie: Oh, of COURSE I wanna go watch Dashie at the Games with you._

 _ILOVEITILOVETHEGAMESILOVEDASHIE… I LOVE YOU!_

 _Me: Well, I was hoping that you'd like it. I know the last time that you offered to take me out_

 _someplace, I was a jerk and told you I didn't wanna go. But, I figured since we were getting_

 _closer as friends and that I kind of figured you'd remember Valen… er, Hearts and Hooves day_

 _was around the corner, I thought I'd get my friend something special._

 _*Pinkie looks at me in realization*_

 _Me: Uh, Pinkie, are you ok?_

 _Pinkie: OHMYCELESTIA, I COMPLETELY_ FORGOT _ABOUT HEARTS AND HOOVES DAY,_

 _ANDIUSUALLYNEVERFORGETABOUTAPARTYORACELEBRATIONORAFEASTORANYTHIN_

 _GSUPERFANTABULUSOSPECIALNEVEREVERNEVEREVER! *breathes* And you thought of_

 _something special for me anyway._

 _Me: Uh, Pinkie; you don't have to…_

 _Pinkie: I'LLBERIGHTBACKLOVEANDBUDDY, THANKSFORTHEFREEPASS! :-D :-D :-D :-D_

 _:-D :-D_

 _Me: Well, I guess that's it for_ this _chapter. Until next time…_

 _*Pinkie comes back with… wait, how did she get chocolates, balloons, a cake, one of those_

 _Beauty and the Beast candles AND a heart-shaped olympic-sized swimming pool over to my_

 _house in a matter of milliseconds?!*_

 _Pinkie *dramatically*: Because I'm Pinkie-Pie. Yeah, you heard it first, HISHE! :-D :-D :-D Hey,_

 _can I close it off this time?!_

 _Me: Sure, go ahead._

 _Pinkie: Keep on Loving, Keep on Edifying, and_

 _KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

 _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

 _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

 _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

 _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

 _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

 _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP_

 _on LoveandEdifying! :-D :-D :-D :-D What are you waiting for? I got your swim stuff already!_

 _Jump in! :-D :-D :-D :-D_

 _*Pinkie cannonballs in the pool, somehow_ without _splashing me*_

 _Me: Then again, with her; who cares about_ how _she does it? It's the thought that counts. :-)_

 _Now, about cannonballs… Hey Pinkie, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D_

 _*proceeds to cannonball, splash around and have fun with my pony friend*_


	11. Chapter 9: About Friendship (Part 1)

More To Me Than That

Chapter 9: About Friendship… (Part 1)

* * *

The past couple of days have been eventful, to say the least for Starlight Glimmer. It mainly

started with trying to help Twilight figure out how to tell Tails how she felt about him. She

heard about the news after talking with Tails and Pinkie-Pie, and wanted to make sure Twilight

got the best help she could get in this situation. Starlight first met her when she was first a

villain trying to create a uniformitarian utopia in a small village. Why was she doing this?

Apparently, it was because right after her best friend Sunburst received his cutie-mark, that

Starlight eventually felt left out of everything. When she saw that a nearby village needed a

new leader, it was the prime opportunity to put her plan into action by making sure everyone

was "unified" by having everyone cover up _their_ marks. It worked, for a while. Until Twilight

exposed the scheme when she and her friends visited said village. Enraged by this, she

sought to eliminate the "friendship magic" through time travel; however, once Twilight and

Starlight engaged in their final duel, she then saw the error of her ways and nobly readied

herself for whatever punishment that Twilight and friends would bestow. But instead, to her

shock _and_ her gratefulness, Twilight instead offered her friendship and a second chance.

Since then, she has continued to make the most of that opportunity time after time, especially

with Twilight. She was about to head over to Twilight's castle when she saw a note on the

door. "Starlight, thank you so much for helping me out yesterday. Going to Crystal Empire to

visit Cadence, have fun today. From, Twilight." she read the note. She must have figured that

Twilight thought she was coming. "Oh well, now I know what I want to do today." she thought

happily to herself. She then proceeded to fly over to Cloudsdale and to the arena where she

hoped to find Rainbow Dash practicing for her event. Instead, she happened to find Spitfire,

Soarin and Sonic hanging around the center of the arena. She then flew down to the center of

the arena. "Oh, hey Starlight." Sonic responded, happy to see yet another friend here on this

beautiful, sunny day. "Hey Sonic," Starlight responded likewise, "Where's Rainbow Dash? I

thought she'd be training today." she asked. "Already done with that," he replied, chill as a

breezy afternoon. "She's taking a catnap in her hotel room right now."

* * *

 _Oh_ REAL _ly? Over to Rainbow Dash…_

She was _not_ taking a catnap. In fact, she was frantically scribbling down on paper harder than

a heavy-metal concert past midnight. "This is _great_!" Rainbow shouted, sarcastically and

stressed out. "I have a few ideas for what I want to say about Sonic, but I have _absolutely_ no

idea where and _how_ to say it!"

* * *

 _So Back to Sonic and Friends…_

"So yeah, all in all, it's been alright. I was about to show these guys _my own_ speed-run. Care

to watch?" he asked. Starlight sighed, knowing how _similar_ that request would be to one

from Rainbow. She then shrugged, smiled and then found a spot next to Soarin and Spitfire

on some stadium seats and then magically made a bowl of popcorn appear. Sonic then

sprinted from the stadium and all the way around Equestria and back again around

1,000,000,000 times. The thing was, this time around, there seemed to be a major magical

explosion that (strangely enough) didn't explode and kill everything; but rather seemed to

have created an ultra-amplified blast of magic. As quickly as he was there, he vanished. To

the shock of everyone there.

* * *

 _Wait, how are we in this other dimension right now?! Oh yeah, that's right…_

An orange-and-yellow haired teen was busy in a laboratory. If you could call it that. The only

source of illumination seemed to come from a string of 10 fluorescent light-bulbs that were

strung above the room like the stripes of a road. About a couple of feet apart from one

another. At the center of the room lay a large, rectangular table which seemed to be polluted

with sketch drawings, books of many varieties from large to small, from pages that were worn

and highlighted to others not as much so. Markers, highlighters, pencils, multiple beakers with

various kinds of fluids, notebooks… you would have thought that this workspace was

destroyed in a tornado, or some other natural disaster. However; there was a method to this

madness. There were small tacks that were tacked onto several highlighted phrases from the

books that all had strings all tied together like a web. And at the center, a picture of a very

familiar looking alienish creature. A humanish hedgehog of sorts. The room was a very large

space to contain all of this and more. "Let's see…" the teen mumbled to herself. "How does all

this information line up to what I already…" Before she could finish though, a huge boom

came through and knocked out the foundations of the house. The girl immediately dropped to

the ground in a turtle position to make sure nothing would severely damage her. Thinking fast;

Sonic ran at a supersonic speed around the wreckage and then, for some reason, instead of

going to her; he telepathically moved the tornado away from her. When she got up

to see what was going on, she was in shock of what she was seeing. Not at the feat,

for Equestrian Magic also exists in this particular dimension too, but what she didn't expect

was _who_ would be there. Meanwhile, the next thing going on in Sonic's head was, " _Now_

 _where can I put this tornado without damaging that girl_?" Seeing that the street this girl lived

on happened to be a smaller neighborhood, there would be other things that the tornado

would suck. But he couldn't just crash it down while the girl was still there. "Hey Sonic!" he

heard someone call, he turned to see the girl (who was now out of the hole) waving at him

excitedly, and then shouted, "drop it in the hole, then run me out of here!" she

called. Sonic knew that that was his only option at this point, but how did this girl know him?

"You sure about this?!" he called out to her. _He_ had no doubts about his abilities, he just

wanted to make sure that _she_ was comfortable with this idea. The girl just gave him a

thumbs-up, closed her eyes and did a trust-fall. Being the fastest thing alive he is, he gently

slowed the tornado down, grabbed the girl in a bridal style, then sped her right out of the way

before any debris had a chance to fall down on them. He then put her down safely and

contained the rest of the debris into the hole so that no collateral damage would occur to

anyone else. "Phew!" Sonic exclaimed as he wiped some sweat from his brow. "Too easy,

piece of cake!" the two shouted simultaneously before turning to each other in shock of the

synchronization. "Wait, how do you know me?" Sonic asked, surprised at the fact that she

actually knew him. "Well, everyone believed the Mobian Myth at some point; but most of my

people thought it was just that." Sonic just laughed it away. "A myth?!" then the duo just

started bellowing laughter at the thought of a "myth" actually showing up the way he did. "So,

how did you end up here?" the girl asked. Sonic was about to respond, but… "Oh, I'm sorry;

aren't you going to give me your name first?" Sonic asked, reminding her that even though

she knew him, he didn't know her. "Ah, silly me." the girl remarked, blushing in

embarrassment from realizing that, in all the rush, she failed to introduce herself. "The name's

Sunset. Sunset Shimmer." she greeted. The two respectfully shook hands. "And, I already

know who _you_ are, Sonic." she playfully informed him. "I know." Sonic responded. "So, the

Mobius Myth, huh?" Sonic asked, "Tell ya what, although I love having a fan; I can't stay

around forever. I gotta get back to my world." Sonic then geared up to run, "Sonic, look." he

heard Sunset tell him. He saw her point at his body and he saw sparks that were lightning and

electricity but weren't at the same time. "Whoa! Is this magic?" Sonic thought out loud,

getting excited about the new ability. "Wait?!" Sunset exclaimed, "You have _Equestrian_

magic?!" she asked. Sonic then turned back to normal. "Whoa, hey; I guess I do." Sonic

said, "But how do you know about Equestria?"

* * *

 _Speaking of… BACK in Equestria…_

Rainbow Dash was back in her hotel room, _still_ not having a catnap. "How does Sonic _do_ all

this?!" she asked herself out loud. "If Sonic were here, he would've already thought of a way

by now, and he would have me _beat_!" She pulled herself together for a moment, then

rationalized herself again. " _Now let's see…_ " she thought to herself, " _all I'd need to do is find_

 _what Sonic would do; then do better than that."_ She smiled, as this was her normal way of

thinking when it came to any type of competition against the blue blur. Surprisingly however,

her optimism faded, "Oh, it's no use." she sighed in defeat, banging her head against the

desk; completely oblivious to her room door being thrown open. "Rainbow-Dash, I need your

help!" Starlight bellowed, as she cantered into the room. "Well unless you have a way to tell

the world's greatest hedgehog how he _is_ the greatest; then I'm not that much use." Rainbow

depressedly replied, "But that's just it, Rainbow," Starlight urged on, "Sonic is missing!"

* * *

 _Meanwhile… at Twilight's Castle…_

"Now cousin darling, I can't wait to show you around the rest of Ponyville; but first, there's

someone I want you to meet." Rarity informed her cousin as they trotted along the Ponyville

square. "Rarity, I got it already. We're gonna go see Twilight Sparkle, and we're

hopefully gonna run into some Mobians; including one I'd really like to see again." her cousin

responded mischievously. Rarity looked at her cousin in surprise, "Ok first off, _cousin_

Whiteflank, how did you know I was taking you to see Twilight; and second, who's this Mobian

you've previously acquainted yourself with?" she asked. The two finally arrived at Twilight's

house. Whiteflank threw out a smirk and a strut. "First, just because you have big words

doesn't mean you have a big head," Rarity gasped at that comment from her cousin, "Second,

I kinda figured that you also take me to see some Mobians; and third… you're not gonna

believe this, but Sonic the Speedin' Hedgehog was at my work yesterday." Rarity shook her

head rapidly, still trying to get her head (or lack thereof, according to Whiteflank) around it all.

"Wait? How'd you happen to meet Sonic?" Rarity asked. Whiteflank just chuckled, "It's a long

story. I'd love to see him again, though."

* * *

 _Yeah; you'll see him in a bit, Whiteflank…_

"So I basically ran myself into another dimension?" Sonic asked Sunset, still trying to grasp

 _what_ exactly just happened here (as you all probably are). "I know, it's strange, right?

Strangely AWESOME!" Sunset awed. "Hey, can I get a quick pic?" Sunset asked, getting her

phone ready for a selfie. "Sure," Sonic responded, just happy that everything in this moment

seemed right. Right after they took their selfie, they embraced briefly and then Sonic once

again took off like the blue blur he is. Sunset happily waved and started writing a note for

herself to write to Twilight when she got to school to get a new notebook. "Dear Twilight, you

won't believe who just ran into me today…"

* * *

 _Meanwhile… at the Crystal Empire… about an hour or so later…_

Ok, now I know what you're thinking, we're gonna see Twilight, right? In a bit, this is actually

where Starlight and Rainbow are right now trying to look for Sonic. They were actually right at

the foot of the Castle where the guards, knowing who they were, stepped aside to let them in.

Both of them had looks of worry on their faces; but for very different reasons. Rainbow knew

Sonic enough that, like her, she was a hardcore adventurer. Always testing his limits, so she

wasn't worried about what situations he could run into. What she was worried about was how

she could explain how much their friendship meant to her, in lieu to Starlight's annoyance. "I

get that you're worried about this competition you two have going on, but can we stay focused

on finding him before you don't have a chance to tell him anything?!" Starlight asked,

Half-worried-half-ticked at Rainbow's seeming "negligence." Rainbow sighed, as they went to

the banquet hall. "Look; it's like I told you, Starlight," Rainbow ratted, annoyed at Starlight's

overanxiousness. "We don't need to worry about him because he's Sonic." "Did some

pegasus call?" The two turned to hear a very familiar, confident voice coming from the

banquet table. It was Sonic (who was waving to them with an apple in his waving right hand,

and a golden jeweled goblet in his left), sitting at the center seat.

* * *

 _Alright everybody/pony/whatever, sorry this one took a while to update. So, minor spoiler, but_

 _Determination Of The Strong (the companion story to this one) was always meant to be the_

 _longer one of the two, so I'm going to try and even it out with some more one-shot-ish like_

 _stuff until I get to the real story-moving events (this two-part chapter is going to be important_

 _though). Anyhow, enough talk. I just left Zecora's and she told me to meet her at Whitehill_

 _Woods for… well, she didn't say exactly what, but… HOLY COW! :-D :-D :-D_

 _*turns to see something like a nature spa*_

 _Pinkie: Do you like it, LoveandBuddy?_

 _Me *excited*: Ah, so_ that's _why I had to go to Zecora's to get the oils._

 _Pinkie: Mhm *nods*. And we borrowed some towels from Twilight, and Fluttershy over here is_

 _going to help me massage you._

 _Fluttershy: Are you ready for your massage, LoveandEdify._

 _Me: Alright then, massage away. *lays down stomach down*_

 _Fluttershy: Alright then Pinkie,_ just _like we practiced. *tries to put her hooves on my back, but_

 _only to be swiftly swatted by Pinkie*_

 _Pinkie: Uh-uh. Don't touch my Lovey-Dovey._

 _Fluttershy *confused*: But you were more than fine when we practiced on the animals…_

 _Pinkie *ticked*: DON'T! TOUCH! MY LOVEY-DOVEY!_

 _*Pinkie and Fluttershy start arguing about what to do*_

 _Me: WILL YOU BOTH SHUT THE (BLEEP) UP?!_

 _*Pinkie and Fluttershy immediately stop arguing*_

 _Me: *sighs* Now, I'm sorry for the outburst; but I WON'T have my friends be getting mad at_

 _each other like this! *breathes and calms down* I_ do _have an idea though._

 _*a peaceful from there 30 minutes later*_

 _Me: You see, it's just as good when we're all being massaged by animals, am I right?_

 _*Pinkie and Fluttershy nod*_

 _Fluttershy: We're really sorry that we were arguing about that. We just wanted to make sure_

 _you were nice and relaxed._

 _Pinkie: Yeah, especially on my part. I didn't mean to treat you like a trophy there, but you_

 _mean_ SO _much to me._

 _Me: It's alright. You both did great. Plus, when we all recollected ourselves and found a new_

 _way; we all had a relaxing time._

 _Pinkie: Twilight Sparkle told you that?_

 _Me: Nope. Just made sense at the time._

 _All three: Ah, ok; that makes sense._

 _Fluttershy: Keep Loving…_

 _Pinkie: Keep Edifying…_

 _Me: And Keep LoveandEdifying! See you next chapter! :-D :-D :-D :-D_

 _*all three cheer at the great day and fun times and friendship ahead of them*_


	12. Chapter 10: About Friendship (Part 2)

More To Me Than That

Chapter 10: About Friendship… (Part 2)

 _A couple seconds after Sonic left Equestria Girl World…_

"Hey Starry, I'm home!" Sonic shouted happily. Surprisingly enough however, "Starry" wasn't

home. Neither were Spitfire and Soarin. "Oh well, they must have went home and got bored."

Sonic reasoned, shrugging his shoulders and leaving Cloudsdale.

"Might as well let Rainbow Dash rest and see if I can find Twilight. Maybe I can help her out

with Tails."

* * *

Speaking _of Tails…_

* * *

"I'm starting to wonder why you never thought of telling her yourself in the first place?"

Fluttershy asked. She and Tails were currently at her animal shelter taking care of various

(non-anthropomorphic) animals. "It's like I told you, Fluttershy," Tails told her while giving a

small otter a massage (Oh, so _that's_ who you learned massaging from, Fluttershy. :-D :-D

Never mind, _totally_ going off-topic.), "I know what I _want_ to tell her; but I don't think it's

adequate enough for her." Fluttershy took a break from petting her pet rabbit and knelt next to

Tails. "Well, I think that whatever you say would make Twilight _very_ happy to be your

mare, er I mean, girlfriend." she encouraged, hoping to boost her friend's confidence. Tails

merely strode down to the animal pond, with a hunched back and slumped shoulders, prompting a concerned

Fluttershy to follow.

"You really seem so down on yourself, Tails. Do you mind telling me what's wrong?" she asked, politely yet concerned.

Tails merely looked at himself through the river's reflection. "Who am I, Fluttershy?" he asked.

Fluttershy chuckled a little bit, "Why, you're Miles Tails Prower, silly." in yet another attempt to

try and cheer her friend up. "I know _that_ , Fluttershy," Tails retorted, still feeling down about his

own self-worth. He took a deep breath so he could figure out how to make Fluttershy get what

he was trying to tell him; but Fluttershy ended up beating him to it. "I get it, Tails. You just don't

think that she would want you because you don't think you're adequate enough for her."

Fluttershy sympathized. Tails sighed deeply, "Did you know that her brother is the head of the

Crystal Empire, his wife is the head Princess there, her mentors are practically queens…" "...

and yet we're her most 'famous' friends, but we were so much simpler than that." Fluttershy

calmly interrupted, giving Tails a firmer sense of reality. "We were all dreamers before Twilight

invited us to be a part of her life and her adventures." Tails was skeptical, "You were the ones

that asked to join her, remember?" He reminded her, letting her know that his memories from

their stories were still intact. Fluttershy just smiled at him. "True. But Twilight still let us come.

We've been making each other better this whole time; but the fact that Twilight chose to let _us_ ,

five simple noponies, into her life; makes it even more meaningful. Especially with all we

experienced along the way. And I'm sure that her letting you into her life is going to mean

something great for you both as well." Tails felt a little bit better, but still had questions and

doubts in his mind. "But how am I supposed to know if she's being Twilight or Princess

Twilight? Or if I'm even good enough for her?" Tails anxiously wondered out loud. Fluttershy

chuckled a small bit, "Oh Tails. You already try so hard for everyone; but some things just take

a little faith." Fluttershy then turned to leave, "Well, I've got all the other animals from here.

Thank you so much for helping, Tails." she said, as she flew off with some other birds for an

exercise. "You're welcome, Fluttershy. See you again soon." Tails called out. As he saw

Fluttershy leave, he pondered what she said internally. "Faith, huh?" he thought.

* * *

 _Meanwhile… at Twilight's…_

* * *

Sonic sped over to Twilight's, expecting to find the Princess of Friendship there; but instead

happened to find Rarity and another familiar foal at the doorstep. "Hmmm… she looks

familiar." Sonic said to himself. He ran right over to them, but in doing so, accidentally kicked

up dust at Rarity. "Eeeeek!" Rarity shrieked in surprise, "Oh goodness, it's you, Sonic." she

said, gasping for breath after the unexpected run-in. "Sorry about shrieking like that, darling.

It's just that you came in rather unexpectedly." Rarity then dusted herself off with her hooves

and her tail. "It's alright, Rarity. Sorry for kicking that dust up at you." Sonic replied, "Now then,

remind me who _you_ are?" Sonic asked Rarity's friend. Whiteflank nodded, "Oh yeah, right, of

course. My name's Whiteflank. I served you over at the restaurant yesterday." Sonic gleamed

like Celestia's sunrise in a happy realization. "Oh yeah, I remember you. Nice seeing you

again, Whiteflank." Rarity sighed happily that the two were getting along so well. "So, you've

met my cousin before, Sonic?" she asked, curiously? Sonic's complexion looked as if it ran

right through an electric fence, because he was _shocked._ (Ba-dum-ting! Hahahahahaha…

no?! Ugh, _fine_!) "Wait, she's your cousin?" Sonic asked in surprise, to nobody/pony in

particular. "Yeah, we're cousins, Sonic." Whiteflank informed. "You ok with that?" she asked

menacingly. "Whiteflank!" Rarity scolded. Sonic backed up slowly with his hands up. "No, of

course it's ok…" Sonic said out loud. Almost right after that though, Whiteflank's complexion

turned from a menacing bully right back to a compassionate friend. "Hey," Whiteflank called

out, "I'm just horsin' around with ya." Sonic wiped sweat from his brow and chuckled in relief.

"Ah, of course," he replied in nervous reassurance, "Got me there, Whiteflank." "Friends,

please," Rarity gently and kindly beckoned, "We don't have all day and Whiteflank hasn't seen

all my friends yet." she asked. Sonic nodded, then knocked at the door. Only he found that he

was knocking at a sign that was previously placed there by Twilight that none of the three

friends have noticed before. 'Huh, that's new." Sonic thought out loud as he yanked the note

from the door. "Dear friends," Sonic read from the note aloud, "Spike and I are headed to the

Crystal Empire to visit my sister, Cadence. If you need me, feel free to talk to me as soon as I

get back. Yours truly, Twilight Sparkle." "Oh well, darlings. Looks like we'll have to wait and

see Twilight later." Rarity confirmed. "Hey, hold up!" Sonic called out to them before they got

on their way, "You said you wanted to see Twilight's friends, right?" he asked Whiteflank. "Yes

I do," Whiteflank confirmed, "but if Twilight's busy, I can see her another ti…" Whiteflank was

interrupted when she suddenly saw Sonic with a large rickshaw-looking contraption that

looked as if it were able to fit 20 Equestrians (at least). Both Rarity and Whiteflank were taken

aback. "How did you get that here?" Whiteflank asked in shock. Sonic did a little victory dance

around the cart. "Fastest… thing… alive!" he replied, in a "way past cool" sort of tone. "Hop

in." he said, putting Rarity and Whiteflank in the cart. Faster than you can say, "He's the

fastest thing alive!" he zoomed the two friends off to the Crystal Empire. Then, a few

seconds after that, Sonic sped off and returned with about 1,000 motion-sickness potions for

each of them and about 5 five-gallon buckets of water for them to chase them down with.

"Sorry. But Zecora would need to make some more for my 'personal friends's' stash later." he

quippedly reminded them.

* * *

 _A few minutes later…_

* * *

Right after Sonic set up his two friends with a recovery space inside the castle, Sonic made

his rounds with his own walk around the castle. Everyone inside the castle knew who Sonic

was in one way or another; whether they saw his heroic feats in person, a fan, or merely a

friendly face. "Hey, nice to see ya. Wow, someone's looking great! So, who wants

autographs?" Sonic enjoyed talking with and meeting fans; and the citizens of the Crystal

Empire in particular, were very receptive towards him. Maybe it was because he was such

great friends with Twilight, maybe it was he just brought along such great charisma and charm

wherever he went. Who knows? Whatever the reason, it was just a great day to be Sonic.

After a few minutes of making the rounds, he approached a very large door made out of

sapphire. "Ah, so this is the blacony, right?" Sonic thought out loud. He pushed the door

gently open and found, not a balcony, but rather the royal dining room; where Cadence,

Twilight and Spike were having a friendly chat of sorts. "Whoops, wrong room." Sonic thought

internally. He attempted to quietly sneak out of the room, but the door creaked slightly as he

tried to pull it shut. "Wait! How do sapphires creak like that?" Sonic thought out loud, before

he saw that he was already spotted by the trio of friends he was aiming to see. "Oh, hey

Sonic." Twilight called out, as she flew towards her friend with Spike.

Sonic and Twilight greeted each other with a friendly hug, then broke from it after a second.

"Wow, wasn't expecting to see you here today either." Spike told him when he landed a few

minutes later. Sonic snickered at the comment, "Well _I_ wasn't expecting me here either, but…"

he started, then proceeded to dash (no pun intended) out of the room for a brief second

before coming back with Rarity and Whiteflank, "... I have a new friend here that wanted to

see you." Sonic then moved out of the way so that Rarity and Whiteflank could pass. "Twilight,

this is…" Rarity started, but was quickly interrupted by her cousin. "Rarity. I got this, girl." She

then broke from her cousin and offered Twilight her hoof to shake, which she politely

accepted. "Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Whiteflank." she said, with a balance

of calm, cool swagger with a genuine, reverent air of respect. "Reintroduce yourself?!" Twilight

asked, a bit confused at the statement. "Yeah, everypony sometimes forgets my name even

though I serve them about a million times at work. I guess I'm just used to leading off like that

by now." Whiteflank informed. "Oh Whiteflank, I'm so sorry." Twilight apologized out of sympathy.

"I'm good Princess Twilight, thanks." Whiteflank told her in all gratitude after Twilight released her,

"Honestly, it doesn't get to me that much. But I'm always grateful for having friends like Rarity,

and Sonic (even though I don't know him very well)..." "And me?" Twilight asked, interrupting

Whiteflank's comment. Whiteflank just looked at Twilight with confusion, "Yeah, I mean; if you

want to… but at the same time, you're the Princess of Friendship. You almost _have_ to say

that." Twilight sighed, "Why in Equestria does everypony think that just because I'm the

'Princess of Friendship'; it automatically means that I _have_ to be a friend to someone?! Why

can't those ponies realize that _maybe_ , just _may_ be, that just like everypony else, I… _really_ …

want… to… be… a… friend… too!"

* * *

 _Whoa!_ That _was intense Twilighting._

* * *

Rarity and Whiteflank were taken aback, while Sonic just looked at his three friends in his

usual chill manner. "Yep, _totally_ used to it by now." Sonic spoke, practically cutting the tension

with his quill-like fur. "I get it, Twilight." they heard a hidden voice come from the hallway.

"It's like everyone thinks a title is who you are instead of

the _part_ of you it is." the four friends then turned to find Tails flying right behind them into

the room towards Twilight. "Sure being a leader of friendship is _part_ of who you are, but it's

not _all_ of what defines you either." Twilight tried holding back tears,

but eventually she decided just to let her happiness take over. She then gripped the little

kitsune like a young baby would a stuffed animal, wiping her tears on his fur. "Eh, darling; you

might want to not wipe your tears on your friend?" Rarity suggested, trying not to sound hurtful

but she was nonetheless shocked by the reaction. "Oh come on, Rarity; you gotta admit that

gesture _is_ romantic, is it not?" Whiteflank asked, obviously more excited than disgusted. "I

suppose I get what you're saying." Rarity affirmed sheepishly. Whiteflank then turned to

Twilight and nudged her gently, "I think it might be time to let your friend go now though,

Princess Twilight." she told her. Twilight then put him down, "Sorry Tails. I guess I should've

been in better control of what I was doing, huh?" Twilight awkwardly apologized. Tails knew

where she was going with all this, and while he wasn't quite used to all the "Twilighting", he

was determined to roll with the punches more often and continue to learn to love her better.

"Yeah, it caught me off guard;" Tails confessed politely, "but I guess that meant you're happy

now?" he asked. "Very happy." Twilight told him. "Is there anything else you came here for

Tails, or are you just passing by?" she asked. Tails looked around and saw that in this

particular moment he really noticed the others around him. "Oh, it kinda looks like you're busy

right now, so I'll talk to you later Twilight." he replied. "Oh, you don't have to go right now. I

actually wanted to see you anyway, if it's alright that is." Twilight asked him, eagerly hoping

that he _would_ stay around. Tails looked at everyone else, they were all silent but all had a

positive demeanor about them. He then turned back to Twilight, "Sure. I hope I'm not taking

you away from anything important." he asked politely. "Not at all." Twilight responded back

kindly, "Come on, let's go over to the balcony." Sonic then turned to his other friends with his

mouth ajar. "But that's where I was trying to go in the first…" He said. He was about to follow

them so that he could retrace their steps, but Rarity closed the door with her magic. "Uh

darling, how about you ask the three of us about your plans for your competition with Rainbow

Dash?" she asked, with Whiteflank and Cadence agreeing and exchanging nods. Sonic

sighed reluctantly, "Oh alright I'll…" his expression then changed from dissapointment to

shock, "Wait a minute! How did _you_ three know about our contest?!"

* * *

 _Meanwhile… with Twilight and Tails…_

* * *

The two finally made it to the large, round emerald balcony, where there were two perfect soft

chairs waiting for them. Once they sat down in their chairs, both of them were immediately

trying to regain composure in their own way. Tails trying to recite whatever speach he had

going on in his head and Twilight by pacing across her space. Both of them were chess

players, locked into a stalemate; and waiting to see who would make the first move. "So

Twilight, was there something you wanted to see me about?" Tails asked nervously. Twilight

blushed, shook and stuttered with similar nervous anticipation, "Who, me?! Ah, just wanted to

let you know that there's no rushing anything… but I wish it could be soon… but I get it if it's

not, but I'm hoping you still…" In the midst of yet another (how many is this now?) Twilighting

session, Tails steeled himself, knowing that it would be now or never. "I love you, Twilight!"

At that moment, Twilight gasped in surprise, excitement and shock all into one.

Although she clearly heard what he said, she still couldn't quite believe it. Sure, she was

waiting for this day to happen (and if she knew _when_ Tails would say it, she'd be counting

down the days too). "Does this mean you're wanting to…" Twilight asked in anticipation. Tails

took a deep breath, not knowing quite how to say what he wanted to say. "Twilight, will you be

my girl, er I mean, _mare_ friend?" he asked. At that moment, Twilight just teleported

sporadically in different places in the castle shouting, "He loves me, he loves me, HE LOVES

ME!" After doing this for about, I don't know, about _every_ location in the castle; she excitedly

opened a portal to drop boquets of roses on Tails that would've

filled about a dozen flower delivery trucks. "I'M SO HAPPY!" she screamed with joy

unending.

She then felt some weird language vibrating directly into brain that said, "I'm happy you're

happy- - Can you get all the plants off me now?- -"

Twilight shook her head in confusion, wondering

what that weird, alien-esque message going on inside her head was all about before she saw

all the roses. "Oh!" she realized, and immediately teleported the roses away to somewhere

else and found her "fox-friend" getting back up easily from the hit. "Whoops! My bad Tails… I

guess I got a little carried away _that_ time."

* * *

 _Oh come ON, Twilight?! How many times have you been Twilighting this entire chapter?!_

 _And you call_ this _the moment where you get carried away?! COME ON! *sighs* Sorry,_

 _where were we?_

* * *

"It's ok, Twilight." Tails replied, "That flower show might be a little tough for _me_ to 1-up

though." Twilight awkwardly chuckled at that for a bit. "How were you able to send that

message to my horn?" she asked. Tails then pulled out a small, touchscreen remote-control

shaped device. "It's something I was working on so that I could transmit signals to any magic

pony so that they can receive hidden communication anywhere." he said with pride. Twilight,

however, was a little concerned. "Wouldn't that mess up somepony's head?" she asked,

suspiciously. Tails then put his device back. "Well, to be honest; I had to calibrate the

technological forms of morse code to magic to magical brain-waves that your horn could pick

up like a receiver. I didn't have a chance to actually test it yet, but seeing as I couldn't find

another way to get you to get the roses off me…" Tails looked down, rather ashamed that he

didn't tell anybody/pony else about the project first. Tension was definitely cuttable between

the two, until Twilight finally spoke up. "Well, my head definitely vibrated; but nothing to the

point of anything really dangerous." she confirmed, "I'd say your machine looks like it'll be

another true Tails Tech classic." Tails looked up and sighed, grateful that Twilight wasn't mad

at him for that. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Twilight. I wanted to wait until I actually got it working; but I

wasn't counting on _that_ to happen." Tails apologized. "It's alright, Tails. So… what is this

'morse code' anyway? Sounds like something else exciting we should dive into together."

Twilight replied, gleaming at both the new discovery of science; but even moreso, another

bonding opportunity with her new fox-friend. "Sure thing, Twi." Tails responded, also grateful

for another bonding experience with Twilight. "But, could we talk about it on the way back to

our friends?" he asked. "Of course," Twilight responded, then showed him towards the door of

the balcony. "Lead the way, _boy_ friend." she offered, trying to get used to the term Tails set up.

Instead, however, he extended his arm out for Twilight to take. "Honestly, I think it'd be better

for us to walk side-by-side; if you catch my drift." Tails offered. Twilight then nodded in

compliance and the two lovers escorted each other out to the main room where their friends

were anxiously waiting for them; not yet knowing what joyful bliss the pair had experienced.

* * *

 _Well, that's it for this chapter. So, fun fact, I was originally not going to have Tails and Twilight_

 _be official_ this _early, but then realized that by dragging it out as originally planned would_

 _distract from Sonic and Rainbow Dash's story (which is where I wanted the main focus to be_

 _anyway). So yeah, I'm glad for Twilight and Tails. There should be two more parts to the_

" _About Friendship" chapter series. Anyhow, Pinkie-Pie's not here for this one; so I'm just going_

 _to close this one out myself._

 _Keep Loving, Keep Edifying and_ especially _Keep LoveandEdifying! :-D :-D :-D Catcha later_

 _fans!_


	13. Wednesday? Explain This

_Pinkie *happy singsong*: Wake up, LoveandBuddy. :-D :-D :-D_

 _Me: *yawns* Good morning Pinkie Pie. Oh, wait… Pinkie. You don't have to do that._

 _Pinkie: Well it's not_ every _day I get to try out the sorta new (but not really) guest room I built_

 _for things like this and decide to serve my LoveyDovey some breakfast in bed._

 _Me: Awe, Pinkie. Thank you._

 _Pinkie: *jumps up and down in happiness* You're welcome, you're welcome, you're_

 _welcome! So, did you sleep well last night?_

 _Me: Come to think of it, Pinkie; I've been having this really_ bizarre _dream for the past week. I_

 _wonder if you could help me figure out what it means._

 _Pinkie *concerned*: Why not Princess Luna? She could help you with your dreams._

 _Me: Except this one's_ really _bizarre;_ even _for Luna._

 _Pinkie: Okie-dokie-broski. I'll do my best to help you all I can. Now, what's this all about._

 _Me *confused*: Wait. You're not gonna drag over a psychiatrist's chair from nowhere or_

 _something?!_

 _Pinkie: I can if it'll make you feel better._

 _Me: No, wait! You don't have to…_

 _Me: *facepalms*_

 _Pinkie: Alright, I have the chair and things right here. Now what's the dream?_

 _Me: *sighs* Well, for starters; I see you and Shadow pop up at my house and I start making_

 _you some tea…_

 _Pinkie: Uh, LoveandEdify? Are you_ sure _this is weird? 'Cause this sounds pretty, well…_

 _normal._

 _Me: It gets weirder from there. Shadow actually starts acting_ nice.

 _Pinkie: Nice?_

 _Me: Not like he's not a good guy; but nice. Sugar and Spike and all things nice, nice. Like_

 _Alfred the Butler deciding to take you out for a day on the town for no reason nice._

 _Pinkie: 2 questions. 1, Did Alfred actually show up and do all that? And 2, Can I drive the_

 _Batmobile?! :-D :-D :-D :-D_

 _Me *confused*: Uh, no to the first question. And to the second one, maybe when I go to_

 _Gotham City next._

 _Me: Then all of the sudden, we end up having this tea party; kind of what like Fluttershy had._

 _Then I end up asking Shadow if he went back to get more supplies for Mobius…_

 _Pinkie: Because of_ course _he needs those…_

 _Me: … and then you interrupt saying, "Oh, we'renot_ your _ShadPie;_

 _we'reaShadPiefromadifferentdimension."_

 _Pinkie: *shakes her head in unimpressed disbelief* I'm sorry, whuuuut?!_

 _Me: Yeah, but even weirder than that; a weird pixelated portal opens up with some giant hand_

 _opens up and some distorted, spooky sounding voice calls out… "Ok now, back into your_

 _dimension…"_

 _Pinkie: Ok, LoveyDovey; as far as unusual dreams go; that one was pretty…_

 _*doorbell rings*_

 _Me: I'll get that._

 _Pinkie: No you stay in there, I'll get the door._

 _*Pinkie opens the door to then find… *_

" _Pinkie": See? I_ told _you it was completely random!_

" _Shadow": Indeed it was. Oh wait, LoveandEdify. I want to congratulate you on your amazing_

 _works of art. I'm really enjoying FOMOOASC; and looking forward to the second chapter of_

 _That._

 _Pinkie: Wait?! You guys aren't from around here… Are you?!_

" _Pinkie": Nope. We'retheShadPiefromanotherdimension_

 _*everyone stares at each other, freaked out by what they're seeing…*_

 _Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

 _Pinkie: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

" _Pinkie": AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

" _Shadow": …_

 _*Pinkie, "Pinkie" and LoveandEdify scream in unision.*_

 _Me: *pulls out a gun and rapidly fires at "Pinkie" and "Shadow"*_

 _Pinkie: Whoa… where did you think of keeping a tranquilizer dart gun under your pillow?_

 _Me: Well with all the weird things in my adventures, plus having a duplicator that can duplicate_

 _anything I want or need (including duplicators) and having Tails convert the pistol tranq guns_

 _to uzi tranq guns; you gotta be prepared for what you can._

 _Pinkie: Ohhhhhh, gotcha. But couldn't Shadow just teleport away from the tranq gun?_

 _Me: Have you_ seen _the Sonic movie trailer yet?_

 _Pinkie: Ah. Wow LoveyDovey, you're getting more impressive every day. Now, where do these_

 _two go?_

 _Me: I have a weird feeling I know…_


	14. AN:

Hey everyone, back in the 5th wall here. So that little chapter was a tribute to an amazing

friend/writer/advisor who has been helping/encouraging me throughout this process called

Wendsdayponythomasfan. This writer has been helping me through reviews, comments, PMs

and even a few shoutouts here and there. So when I saw that he added me to a fourth-wall

breaking chapter in their story, "The Adventures of Pinkie Pie and Shadow the Hedgehog"

(which you should totally check out, by the way); I knew that I had to repay them the favor

with that last little chapter. (Btw, you're characters are simply sleeping off the effects of the

tranqs. They're unharmed and safely back in your dimension. Great stories by the way, my

friend. You might need to check your computer for bugs though,

you _were_ sounding kinda spooky. ;-) )

Anyhow, that's all this AN is. I'm gonna update "Determination of the Strong" next, I

know a lot of people are waiting for that one. So anyhow, catch you all later (especially you,

wensday). Keep Loving, Keep Edifying and KEEP LoveandEdifying! Before I sign off though;

I really don't get as much reviews on my stories as I hope I'd get. Feel free to send me a

review about stuff you like, didn't like, wish could be better, or if you just wanna share

MLP/Sonic trivia. It'd be great, and I'd really appreciate it if you did. If you didn't hear it

already, I really do appreciate all the support you all have given me. Please feel free to send a

review about my work. Anyhow, gotta get going now. So yeah, thank you all! :-D See ya!

:-D :-D


	15. Chapter 11: About Friendship (Part 3)

_Hey everyone, I just want to let you know that this is the 3rd chapter of the_ About Friendship… 

_series of this story. As you know, since Determination of the Strong is going to be the longer_

 _and deeper story of the two; I knew that the original needed some extra chapters/one-shots to_

 _accompany it. Better way to understand this; think of More To Me Than That_ _as Friendship is_

 _Magic (because it has a main story and some extras) and Determination of the Strong as a_

 _Sonic game (whereas it sticks with one story throughout). They're both gonna intertwine_

 _eventually._

 _But for now; please enjoy this chapter and keep reading for a special announcement…_

* * *

More To Me Than That

Chapter 11: About Friendship… (Part 3)

* * *

 _While Twilight and Tails were at the balcony…_

* * *

"You see darling, Twilight told me about your little contest right before I took the next balloon

to meet Whiteflank." Rarity informed Sonic. "Then Rarity told me." Whiteflank confirmed. "I

honestly just heard about it; but it _does_ make me intrigued," Cadence enthusiastically chimed

in, "What's your friendship challenge with Rainbow Dash?" she asked with curiosity. "Well,"

Sonic responded, "we have to do a 10-minute video about what makes our favorite friend so

awesome; and in this case…" "You chose to do yours on Rainbow Dash." all three of his

friends chirped in simultaneously. Sonic's jaw dropped down. "Whoa, you guys really _have_

figured it out." Rarity nodded in agreement. "In fact, I've always wanted to make you a special

little suit; but could _never_ figure out the right occasion." she said in excitement. "Thanks Rare;

er, I mean… Lady Rarity" Sonic replied, awkwardly correcting himself at the last second.

"Sonic, we're friends, remember?" Rarity kindly asked, "You don't have to be _that_ formal with

me." Sonic nodded, "Yeah, I gotcha," Sonic affirmed, "I just didn't wanna sound _too_ impolite

that I start slipping up on it." he said, wanting to make sure that his respect for Rarity

remained in balance and harmony. (No pun intended) Rarity blushed slightly at the statement,

"Well yes of course, darling…" she replied, rather embarrassed. "I just hope you know

you _don't_ have to be perfect. Just keep doing your best, darling." she then

whispered/muttered into Sonic's confused set of ears. "Anyhow, I don't think you remembered

what I was talking about earlier; but Rainbow Dash and I _aren't_ going on a date." Sonic tried

to reaffirm since the conversation took the unexpected detour it did.

Rarity chuckled, "Of course I

knew what you were talking about darling. I just thought that you ought to be looking positively

perfect for your video shoot." Rarity affirmed. "Hold up a minute." Whiteflank interrupted,

"Rainbow and Sonic _aren't_ dating?" she asked in confusion. At that time, Tails and Twilight

finally re-entered the room quietly, no one heard the pair of lovebirds stride in; so they carried

on with their conversation as usual. "I thought that after Soarin made that reveal about him

and Spitfire; you two would start… you know… thinging?!" she asked, piqued at the

apparent, yet not all-too rare, gossip about Rainbow and Sonic. "I'm sorry. Did you say,

'thinging?'" Sonic asked, in confusion. "Don't you know what being a 'thing' is, Sonic?"

Whiteflank asked, in a teasing tone. "Of course I know what being a thing is, Whiteflank. I'm

just not sure now would be right for me _or_ for Rainbow. Besides, even if we _never_ end up

dating; she's still an awesome best friend. Just one I really enjoy spending time with, that's

all." Sonic attempted to clarify. Rarity then trotted next to him and put a hoof over his shoulder.

"Plus, the fact that he also makes special time for the rest of his friends and assumingly his

adoring legion of fans should mean _something_." she defended him. None of them really notice

Spike, who was bored, fly over to Tails and Twilight to see how their chat at the balcony went.

"So, are you two official now?" he asked, _finally_ getting the attention of everyone else. The

young couple ended up blushing at everyone watching them. "Uh Tails, do you wanna tell

them? Or should…" Twilight wasn't quite able to get the last word out because Tails chose,

instead, to embrace her firmly yet gently and give her a passionate kiss. Albeit, it only lasted a

few seconds, but it was more than a sufficient amount of time to earn a surprised stare from

Rarity, a proud glance from Sonic, a small smile and a wink from Whiteflank and Cadence…

(well, let's just hope that her happy nap doesn't last _too_ long… ).

* * *

Although Twilight felt taken aback somewhat; she was utterly smitten with pure emotional joy.

To the gentle fresh-water puddles in her eyes, to the joy-possessed grin, to the light, giddy, bouncy feeling

in her legs and hooves; her whole essence seemed to emulate a happiness that was

stimulated both by Tails's kiss, and the ever-rising feelings of love realized. "Sorry Twilight, I

just thought we could show them instead of…" Tails never finished his apology as Twilight

yanked her unsuspecting lover into a passionate hug and kiss of her own. This time, however;

Sonic, Rarity and Whiteflank cheered in approval as the display affection went on.

* * *

 _5 minutes later…_

* * *

"Wait! I know that Tails is pretty capable of all sorts of things; but holding his breath for that

long?!" Sonic asked, clearly shocked and not speaking to anyone in particular. "Magic of

Friendship, Sonic." Whiteflank told him, with a confident wink. "Well, I'dsay the power of

romantic love and Twilight _clearly_ using magic… but yes. The Magic of Friendship." Rarity

agreed. "Yep. Friendship _is_ Magic." Sonic happily concurred.

Rarity finally decided to use _her_ magic to

alert Twilight to come back for air; while Whiteflank and Sonic attempted to help Princess

Cadence, who was finally waking up after she fainted. "Oh goodness me. What happened

here?" she asked, trying to regain her senses. That's when Spike flew over to her and gave

her the story: "Well after that first kiss, you fainted. And then Twilight used some of her magic

to hold a new world's record for holding her breath for her _second_ kiss with Tails…" "Spike!"

Twilight interrupted, a little embarrassed at that particular fact. "Hey, just calling it like I see it."

Spike replied, completely brushing off that comment, "Anyhow, then Rarity and Whiteflank

were trying to tell Sonic two different approaches about the video with Rarity suggesting a

well-dressed musical number while Whiteflank wanted him to just skip the whole thing, make

a mind-map and just do some poem-like thing." he continued. "Yeah, I just wish that there was

a way I could do _both_ of them though…" Sonic commented, then winking and smirking at

Rarity and Whiteflank. The two cousins then looked at each other in realization. "Oh. Well I

guess we didn't think of it that way until now." Rarity admitted. "Yeah," Whiteflank affirmed, "I

think a poem written into a song form wouldn't be that bad of an idea after all." she concurred.

"and the-e-e-e-en," Spike continued, "I was wondering why in the world Sonic and Rarity were

shipping each other when…" "Hold up, Spikey-Wikey!" Sonic interrupted, "What do you

mean by me and Rarity shipping each other?!" he asked, annoyed at that seemingly weirdly

drawn-up assumption. "Yes Spikey-Wikey, whatever do you mean by that?!" Rarity asked,

equally confused. "Well for starters, you two _do_ like hanging around each other a whole lot…

and that's a _great_ thing." Spike replied. "But that's because Sonic and I are _friends_ , darling.

You know that, right?" Rarity replied, calmly informing Spike. "True…" Spike agreed, "But you

gotta admit, Rarity. All that talk about making Sonic suits, your defense of him possibly being

a deflection towards something more…" "Again, we're _friends_ , Spike!" Sonic shouted at him,

more embarrassed than angry. "Plus; just because I hang around with your friends a lot and

am _close_ friends with them, doesn't mean I'm pursuing a romantic relationship with them."

Sonic attempted to reason.

* * *

"Guys, can we _please_ get back to the best-friend contest that Sonic and

Rainbow are having?" Twilight pleaded, desperately attempting to break up the embarrassing

situation. "Sure." Spike replied, then scratched his chin to try and remember what else happened.

"Nope. That's it. Nothing else happened." Spike sadly remarked, drooping down.

"Look guys; I know that this contest is the best way for me to show Rainbow the appreciation

she deserves; but honestly, I don't wanna feel like I have to make it perfect." Sonic mused to

everyone. "Because if Rainbow could tell if you put half-effort in; then you think she'd really be

disappointed because she'd be working so hard to show _you_ how much she feels about you

as well." Tails deduced. "Eh-xactly." Sonic sighed, confirming the pressure he felt like he was

under. His friends then came to gather around him, sympathetically. "I see how that's a lot of

pressure for you; but Rainbow Dash isn't gonna throw you under the carriage just because of

a bad vid-yo." Twilight encouraged. "Vid-ee-o." Tails interrupted. "Hm? What was that,

darling?" Twilight politely asked. "It's pronounced…" Tails started to interject again, but then

realized that everyone was gathered around supporting Sonic, not him. "I'll tell you later, ok?"

Tails asked. Twilight nodded, understandingly, with a slight blush on her face. "You know

darling, something that usually helps me is just backing away from everything else for a while

and just treating yourself." Rarity suggested, "I know that sounds weird coming from the

Element of Generosity, but… he-he-he. It actually _does_ help every now and then." She then

facehoofed herself for her awkward trip-up. "She _does_ have a good point there, Sonic."

Spike agreed, "What would _you_ want right about now?" he asked his hedgehog pal. Sonic

smirked, returning to his calm, cool and confident self and shrugged, "Honestly, I just want a

party." he threw out there, as a bit of an aimless statement. When he saw his friends,

however, they were looking at each other as if they were plotting something massive ahead.

"Uh, why are you guys looking at each other like that?" he asked, confused as to what their

intent was.

* * *

 _Alright everyone, this is the second-to-last chapter of the About Friendship… series for this_

 _story, and I need the viewers help with the next chapter. So, here's one_ very _important_

 _question. Just one. Which MLP Character (excluding SilvArity) would you ship Silver with?_

 _Silver and Rarity's friendship will be dealt with in the sequel; but just think about it for a sec._

 _I'm going to have a poll on my profile for this particular question, and then we'll see how the_

 _next chapter progresses from there. In the meantime, please keep reading and reviewing so_

 _that the story can be made better for everybody/pony/bronie out there. But most importantly…_

 _Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, and KEEEEEEEEEEEEEP LoveandEdifying._

* * *

 _*turns off the recorder and sighs* Honestly, I really_

 _miss Pinkie Pie doing this with me. I mean, I know that she was with me recently in the_

 _Wednesdayponythomasfan tribute chapter; but… *sighs* I don't know. I just miss her, that's all._

 _I mean, she's amazing, ok? Sure, it took me a while to really get to know her; and her_

 _antics can still drive me up a wall sometimes. After learning more about her, I guess I'm just_

 _so used to enjoying her company around the place. With her perky optimism, her loyal_

 _commitment to her friends, the way she just brightens up the room. And what's stranger is_

 _that, I'm literally enjoying all those fun little Pinkie-sense quirks of hers as well. Randomly_

 _fitting into my flower-pot, sneaking at the weirdest time and places ever, that absurd way she_

 _catalogs everyone's personal everything just so she knows how to make them feel better…_

 _*sighs* I guess what I'm trying to say is… the more I think about it; the_

 _more I'm starting to realize that I_ do _love Pinkie-Pie, and… Wait a minute… that's_ not _my_

 _drone outside the window! *proceeds to go to the window where the strange buzzing sound_

 _is enimating from* Oh my hoofity-hoof! I_ REALLY _hope that she wasn't recording all that, because I'm_

 _not ready just yet! I still wanna find the perfect way to show…_


	16. Chapter 12: About Friendship (Conclusion

_? V.O. (via drone recording): Hey LoveandEdify, like the drone I made?_

 _Me: Oh, *sighs in relief* it's you, Tails. :-D How's it going today, buddy?_

 _Tails V.O.: Very good, actually. As you can hear; this is just a recording. We cordially invite you to the party_

 _of Sonic The Hedgehog taking place at the Crystal Empire today. Will you be coming, Y or N?_

 _Me: Ok, let me get_ my _drone out here and send what I_ want _to say in binary_

 _*proceeds to get his drone and sends binary message through the computer network*_

 _Tails V.O.: Very well then, hope you have a good time._

 _*Tails's drone flies away*_

 _Me: I told Tails's drone that I wanted to "be there", but it's gonna be through me testing out the new stealth drone I just made._

 _:-D :-D :-D I'm_ really _looking forward to testing it out. Anyhow, on with the story..._

* * *

More To Me Than That

Chapter 12: About Friendship (Conclusion)

"No, seriously. You _don't_ have to do this for me." Sonic nervously objected, slowly backing away from the

small posse of excited friends. "Well we don't _have_ to, I suppose." Whiteflank responded nonchalantly.

Sonic wiped the sweat off his brow in relief. "Phew. Thanks. Now I gotta..." but before Sonic could get ready

to speed off, Whiteflank immediately backflipped over Sonic and stopped him from even getting ready to

leave. "But we're going to anyway." she sharply told him with a smile. "Get used to it, big guy." she

encouraged, while patting Sonic on the left shoulder. "Sonic, we know you've been stressed by this

competition with Rainbow Dash; but you need to understand that it's ok to want a break from everything."

Twilight gently informed. "At least if nothing else, Darling; could you _please_ enjoy yourself?" Rarity implored,

hoping that Sonic could see a bright side to all of this. Sonic still was scratching his chin thinking. He hadn't

seen Rainbow or any of his other friends all day. He already knew that Shadow and Applejack were off

adventuring because Shadow told him about this before he left, so that counted those two out, but

considering that he hadn't really seen too many of his other Mobian friends for a long time; he then figured

that this idea he randomly came up with (that his friends seemed to be willing to follow) could actually work

out for the good of all of them in the long run. "The citizens of the Crystal Empire would be more than

happy to help throw the party," Cadence happily informed the blue blur after teleporting outside for a bit to

figure out what the citizens wanted to do about their party situation, "especially for the Blue Blur of

Mobius." Sonic closed his eyes and smiled contentedly. "So what do you say, Sonic? Ready to get this party

started?" Spike asked, barely containing his excitement. Sonic then calmly opened his eyes up. "Alright, I'm

in." he agreed, "There's just a few thing's I'm gonna want for _my_ party..."

* * *

 _About a couple hours or so later..._

* * *

Sonic's list wasn't either lengthy or brief; but definitely reasonable requests for his celebration. First, he

wanted to make it a grand festival. Big enough for the Crystal Empire. Second, he wanted invitations to be

sent to all of his friends that were with him in Equestria and that _all_ of them would show up before any

festivities began. Third, although he wanted everyone in the festival to have a great time; for the food

portion, he wanted two separate banquet halls. One for the citizens, and the other for a more private suite

for him and his friends. And fourth, he wanted nothing but the best for everyone for his party. "What about

5?" Whiteflank offered. Sonic looked at her in confusion. "5?" Sonic asked, attempting to gain clarification.

Whiteflank smirked. "Yeah, 5." she replied joyfully yet chill, "Making this party the best one you've ever

seen, silly." "Good point," Sonic affirmed, impressed with the attention to detail Whiteflank showed, "but I

think that's an unwritten rule that everybody kind of gets already." he clarified. "Well, you have to make sure

that you pay attention to the little details too, darling. Otherwise you'll forget all about them and slip

something up." Rarity advised, "Right, Cousin Whiteflank?" she asked, turning to find her cousin trying to

make up a secret hoof-shake with Twilight and Tails. Rarity sighed deeply in disappointment that

Whiteflank broke away at such an opportune time. "You know what I mean; don't you, darling?" she asked,

in a bit more of a somber tone. "Yeah, I get whatcha mean." Sonic affirmed, grateful for such helpful advice

from an equally helpful friend. Rarity then perked right back to her normal self. "Ah, that's perfect." She

replied, grateful that Sonic understood her point, regardless of her less-than-perfect timing of example.

She was about to turn to get Whiteflank ready for the party when Sonic caught her attention once again.

"You know, Whiteflank was right on _one_ thing though." he pointed out to her. Rarity then turned around to

acknowledge Sonic's words, "Hmmm... what's that, Sonic dear?" Rarity asked, curiosity slightly piqued.

"We gotta make sure this party's the greatest ever seen, of course." he told her. As if on cue, Cadence

teleported right in between Sonic and Rarity; surprising both of them as they turned to see her. "I think this

will help it a little bit, Sonic." Cadence informed the duo, giddy in her rapidly bouncing hooves. "Everyone in

the Crystal Empire has agreed to contribute. Everyone! They're all bringing in their best food, games,

banners, outfits..." At that, Rarity perked up in shock, "Oh my goodness, darlings." she quickly spoke up, "I

forgot that I absolutely _must_ get our friends ready for this celebration and I really need to get going!"

she stated, in a hurried, nervous flutter. "Come along, Sonic." she called out, motioning for him to follow her

so that she can teleport him, along with the rest of their friends (except for Cadence), to her boutique to

get them all ready. "Thanks Rare, but I need to stay and help supervise until you all get back. I mean, it's _my_

party; right?" he reminded her, which stopped her in her tracks. "Oh. Silly me, darling." Rarity replied, blush

red covering her cheeks and embarrassment meshing in with her tone being blanketed with the

awkwardness of her forgetfulness in this situation. "Of course I knew that. See you at the party, dear." she

called out before finally getting everyone of her friends together to teleport them to her boutique in

Manehattan to get them all ready for the big event; while Sonic and Cadence stayed behind to coordinate

the rest of the party.

* * *

 _A few hours later..._

* * *

The festivities began as tremendously as can possibly be planned. Tens of thousands of Crystal Empire

citizens and hundreds of creatures from beyond the Empire flooded the kingdom for such a glorious

celebration. The town square became a pantheon of luxury; every house, a mansion of a hotel. Meals from

all across Equestria were being prepared for all the guests while many others were vastly decorating the

place with streamers, ribbons, balloons. All of them in millions of variety of colors and patterns. While Sonic

and Cadence were making their way to the podium get the festival started; the rest of their friends were

watching the proceeding events from the balcony. "I can't imagine how many citizens are here _just_ to see

Sonic. I mean, everywhere I look there's some sort of shirt or balloon. The whole kingdom just seems to be

decked out Sonic." Whiteflank commented, amazed at how much festivity seemed to be centered around

the Blue Blur. "I know, right?" Rarity affirmed, excited for the ceremony. "And I'm also very excited that Tails

and Twilight are finally in a relationship together." Tails and Twilight were too busy gazing at the immense

crowds to really pay attention to Rarity and Whiteflank's compliments.

* * *

"So how long do you think it would take for _me_ to fly a plane?" Twilight asked her boyfriend out of

our curiosity. Tails couldn't help but laugh. "Why would you wanna do that, Twilight? You have _wings_." he

retorted. Twilight sassily responded, "Yeah but _you_ fly with your tails, your point is?" she then whipped her

main back like a movie star. "Touche." Tails conceded, "Well, it would take a while to learn and an even

 _longer_ time to master..." "...just like everything else that's worth it." Twilight complimented. "Yeah, exactly."

Tails concurred, pretty pumped that Twilight connected with him so quickly. Twilight smiled at him, just

happy that the two were finally together. Side by side, thick and thin. Just like she wanted it from the

beginning. She was enjoying the perfect silence of the moment when she felt a gentle jerk on one of her

wings. She then turned to see Tails letting go of the wing. "Why didn't you try using your telepathic

remote?" she asked. "Well, I didn't really... er, I mean..." Tails tripped himself silly trying to explain why he

didn't feel like using it in a way that didn't sound too lazy, when Twilight gently nudge him. He turned

around and saw Twilight smirk and snicker. "I was teasing you. You're fine." she informed him. Tails then

breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah good." he concurred. As the speeches were about to start, both Twilight and Tails were

starring at two completely different things. While Twilight's ears were well-connected to the speech Cadence was giving;

Tails was looking up at the sky. "Any Pegasi you see up there, Tails?" Twilight asked, taking a break from watching the

speech. Tails then turned over to Twilight, "Only my girl hopping in and out of the plane to stretch her wings." Twilight

looked at him, puzzled, "But, who would be flying the plane then?" Twilight then asked. Tails simply chuckled, "I am, silly. I'm your co-pilot."

Twilight then stared at him intently, "Let's be clear on one thing in our relationship right now, ok?" she asked. Tails gulped nervously. "Oh-ok, what is it?"

* * *

Twilight then gave Tails a gentle smile to let him know that everything was alright. "There's _no_ co-pilot, ok? Say it with me, Tails." Tails just stared in confusion.

"Just say it, ok sweetie?" Twilight gently prodded. Tails, not knowing what else to do, repeated the phrase. "There's _no_ co-pilot." he said, "But..." "What does

that all mean?" Twilight calmly finished for him. She gently stroked Tails with his magic like a young child with their favorite pet cat.

"I've seen you do all sorts of amazing things for our friends; but I can't help but think that you're being slighted." she sympathetically pointed out.

"It seems like you're always left in the dust. And yet you have all these abilities and that spark of hope and devotion that would leave your friends lost and

misguided without them. Without you." The words neither struck Tails's heart like an arrow, nor healed it like honey. But rather, like acupuncture. Pricking

needles that sting, yet send medicine to the heart and soul. Twilight then smiled, with tears in her eyes. "You may not know it, but you've inspired me to keep

going even when things got tough for me. You give _so_ much to everyone you care about. So from this day on.." she ceased stroking

and also paused her speaking in order to let Tails soak it all in.

She saw his own eyes water up in happy tears and him wiping his tears with his tails, right before Twilight quickly let him wipe his tears on her mane before he

noticed the switch. "I, Twilight Sparkle, will ensure that you will be treated better than I want to be treated. I'll also do my best to carry your weight, so

that I will know what it's truly like under your tails." She paused again to ensure that Tails was indeed listening.

His overjoyed heart and soul clinged onto every encouraging word, like the roots of a rose happily slurping nectar water.

She then continued, "I can't promise that I'll be perfect; but I can promise that we'll always be the stars in each others lives. No sidekicks, no supporting roles.

Just you and me, taking on whatever the worlds throw at us together." She then concluded with a familiar "seal" if you will, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a

cupcake in my eye." Although Tails didn't really need the speech; his soul and heart helplessly overflowed with the

joy of knowing that he was more significant than he ever thought of himself before. "But what I want from _you_ , Tails, is that you remain humble, like you've

always been; but know that when we're together. We're _together_. We're not above or below each other. We just are. And _we_ are everything." Tails could hardly

contain himself. His own fur was already drenched from head to toe from the amount of tears that covered it, and in spite of himself, he latched Twilight

in a tight bear-hug. Fur soaked and all. Twilight returned the hug with an equal amount of force before using her magic to get Tails off of her. "So say it and

mean it, this time. Ok?" Twilight asked, with her own face flooded from her own happiness that she deeply experienced. Tails could hardly think it, much less

say it without chocking up. But he chocked out anyway, "There are no co-pilots." He hugged Twilight one more time before escorting her down the hall. "Thank

you, Twilight." Tails choked out with utmost gratitude. Twilight, caught up in the joy of the moment, couldn't say anything. But she knew that Tails knew

that she was saying "You're welcome." in her heart.

* * *

 _30 minutes later..._

* * *

With the opening speeches complete, Sonic and friends all finally sat down for a private ceremony of their own

in the royal dining room before advancing to the rest of the party.

"Mmm, mmmm. This sure looks taaaaaaaaaaaaa-sty." Pinkie hungrily thought out

loud to Twilight (who was sitting between her and Tails). Before Pinkie could sneak some food for herself, Twilight

successfully snatched her hoof. "Not until Sonic says we're ready to eat. This is _his_ party, remember?" Twilight beckoned.

"Yeah, I know." Pinkie affirmed disappointedly, "I just wish that this got going sooner than later so that we could enjoy the

rest of the party." Pinkie childishly complained. There was a brief silence in the room,

the window drapes were closed for the most part; allowing the slowly dimming light of the sun to hit no one but Sonic.

There was a somber mood in the air, no one except Sonic even was thinking of anything. It was as if, even for a brief

moment, time ceased its turning. It was then Sonic saw two familiar figures fly through the drapes and heard the familiar

voice of one of them. "Look; it's like I told you, Starlight, we don't need to worry about him because he's Sonic." He sighed

in relief, happy that his two friends finally decided to show up. He grabbed the nearest food he could find, a golden

honeycrisp apple, as well as his silver goblet of sparkling cider. He then waved to the two of them, "Did some pegasus

call?" he called out in his familiar confident charm.

At that, everypony else in the room finally looked up to see Starlight and Rainbow Dash _finally_ in the room and the

conversation and liveliness of the party was restored. Sonic then ran to quickly throw open the curtains.

The tension was then cut and time resumed as always.

* * *

"Come on, Rainbow. I saved you a seat." Sonic called out. Starlight and Rainbow looked at each other in confusion, then shrugged

their worries off as they went to their reserved seats by Twilight and Sonic. Rainbow flew over to the royal throne of a seat

and sat down next to him. The first thing she noticed was that everyone else also had a chair that was just as majestic and

regal as hers was, (with the exception of Sonic's, whose was slightly bigger than the rest of them). Then she noticed that

a vast variety of guests were with her in this room. Twilight, Tails, Rarity, Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence, Shining

Armor, Amy, Knuckles, Blaze, the one Mobian rabbit she couldn't remember the name of at the moment, Fluttershy, Trixie,

Maud, Big Mac and the rest of the Apple Clan (excluding Applejack, who's off with Shadow on her own adventure) just to

name a mere few.

Her shock soon faded back to her familiar coolness and excitement as she started to happily chat and mingle with variousfriends.

Meanwhile, on Sonic's side of things, he and Rarity were having their own chat. Albeit, about another one of Sonic's many adventures.

Seriously though, Sonic's been on so many adventures that Indiana Jones, Nathan Drake _and_ Lara Croft would have to ask him for

pointers. For Rarity, who didn't have too much actual adventure experience (but was always intrigued with the prospects

of adventures, such as those from her favorite book series, "Shadow Spade Mysteries"), this was, well...

"Oh my goodness-gracious, darling. That must have been _quite_ an adventure." Rarity beamed with excitement, almost

ready to bounce out of her body with excitement. Sonic just smiled, then brushed off the shoulder of his new tux, which

(he had to admit) was _way_ more comfortable and fitting to his natural "gotta go fast" and carefree style than he expected

"I know, right? One of my best adventures yet." Sonic calmly yet happily replied back, grateful that his friend seemed to be

so interested in his adventures.

"Wait, who's gone to another dimension?!" Rainbow quickly asked, eagerly hoping that she

didn't miss out on the good stuff after talking with Pinkie. After returning to her seat; Sonic then told Rainbow the events

that took place earlier that day. From how he had visited the alternate dimension, to found Rarity and Whiteflank, visiting

Twilight at Cadence's, Twilight and Tails professing their love and starting their relationship, and ending with Cadence

throwing Sonic a party just because. Although Rarity already heard and was witness to part of said events, she still giddily

and awkwardly interrupted on several occasions (which Sonic responded by politely yet insistently reminding hero let him

finish his tale). For Rainbow-Dash, on the other hoof, the parts that snatched her attention the most were Sonic's

Adventure into an alternate dimension of Equestria (from what she deduced) and Tails and Twilight's love story. "So let me

get this straight," Rainbow asked, piqued, baffled and enthused at the same time, "This 'Sunset Shimmer' from the

alternate dimension said her world and ours were connected somehow?" "Yippity-dippity-doo." Sonic happily confirmed,

winking and waving his middle finger "Mutumbo-style." "And she also said that _our_ Twilight actually visited hers once

through some sort of mirror." Sonic added on to his confirmation. "Do you think that if I were to go to this alternate

dimension, I could swap fashion critiques with her?" Rarity asked, hopefully. Rainbow snorted, "Really?

That's the _first_ thing you ask about something with _infinite_ possibilities such as an alternate dimension?!" she asked,

annoyed with the "forest for the trees" perception Rarity was seeming to have. "Well obviously if you want to learn

fashion sense, darling, you should learn from the best. And the best, happens to be me. Now if you wanted to go there

and learn from their greatest _speedster_..." Rarity left her jagged argument incomplete, because no other words were

needed. Rainbow got Rarity's point loud and clear. The edge really sliced Rainbow's doubt and left a shocking sense of

realization. Sonic gasped in shock, then buried his head into Rainbow's shoulder and let his tears waterfall onto her fur.

"How could you?!" Sonic lamented bitterly. Rarity was taken aback and empathetically shook; while Rainbow just looked

awkwardly into the distance at nothing in particular. Rarity attempted to put a sympathetic

hoof onto Sonic's shoulder, but was surprised to see Sonic push it away in anger. "You cut my

friend so deep!" he shouted in anguish, gazing Raritydown with tears washing his eyes. "So

deep!" he continued.

Rarity then saw Rainbow wink and smirk as she finally put two and two together.

"Sorry, Rarity. Couldn't take a joke?" Sonic asked, playfully, with an emphasizing wink.

Rarity then smiled, after taking about 10 years to get the joke.

"Oh, yes. Sorry! Ha-ha-ha, good one, Sonic." she awkwardly apologized.

Even though she knew that Sonic was

trying his very best and utmost hardest to be a great friend to her as well; she sometimes

forgot that he can be a bit more playful, chill, extreme and joking sort of hedgehog.

Sure, sometimes his sense of humor tended to be all over the place for her to understad; but

she always tried to remind herself that she had to treat Sonic with the same amount of respect

that he wanted to give to her.

"Wow. Some ponies just _don't_ know how to take a joke, huh Sonic?"

Rainbow-Dash asked teasingly. "Well, _some_ ponies can't." Sonic verified in similar fashion,

then nodded and high-giving Rainbow in approval. Rarity then joined in her friends' laughter,

gratefully enjoying the amazing company of 3 she was a part of.

* * *

 _A few minutes later..._

* * *

Right after the private dinner, Sonic and friends strode on out to the center of the Crystal

Empire where they were all greeted by cheers, applause and adoration by all that were there;

both inside the city and beyond the outreaches of Equestria.

Don't believe me? The skies were flooded with Pegasi, Griffons, Hawks, Eagles,

Phoenixes, Alicorns and there were at least hundreds of each hovering by. _Not_ counting those

that landed on the ground from time to time before flying back up.

Also, considering that the _whole_ Crystal Empire was involved in this ceremony; and at least

half of all of Equestria's species and kinds of anthropomorphic creatures were inside the city

limits, (which by the way, Sonic knocked _all_ the walls and borders down in a matter of

seconds. No magic assistance, no Super-Saiya, er... I mean, Super-Sonic form, no added

ring-boost, just him knocking crystal walls down as if it was just your average Monday. Also,

yeah;Rainbow-Dash is _also_ capable of that feat. Sorry, just getting ahead of myself here.)

Anywho, it was an immensely larger party.

Sonic and Rainbow-Dash strode around the Empire, taking in all the glory they could from

such an event.

From signing autographs, striking poses for pictures and performing awesome speed feats;

the two friend's enjoyment was only limited by their imaginations that day. And the two were

currently striding along the marketplace, enjoying the cheers and applause.

"Well Rainbow, any luck on your video to your person yet?" Sonic asked. Since

both Sonic and Rainbow have been exposed to crowd noise as high as 260 decibels in

applause and/or booing before, they were used to depicting noises so well, they can have a

normal conversation in normal, unaltered voices _and_ hear each other, while the rest of the

world would be (literally) screaming out loud.

"Well... I'm getting there." Rainbow lied, with corresponding "confidence" to emphasize it,

"I'm just having a tough time with the script." It was the closest she could come

to telling the truth about the progress she made, without being too vulnerable. Sonic smiled in

content, waving to the crowd but still paying attention to his friend.

Silver then levitated over with two ponies trying to chase him. Trixie Lulamoon, a close friend

to the Mane 6 and "great and powerful" magician; and Autumn Blaze, a new friend he had

met inside the castle, were both chasing him around like two big, curious dogs wanting to play

with a small, cuddly kitten.

"Hey Sonic, Hey Rainbow,a little help he...? Whoops, gotta go fast!" he called out to them, as he resumed flying away

with Trixie and Autumn frantically chasing him.

The both of them watched the scene unfold in shock. "So if Amy and I were

both chasing you all crazy like that..." Rainbow asked quickly, "Oh, I'd run! Away!" Sonic

responded. "Yeah, _definitely_ away!" Rainbow agreed. Then the two laughed at the hilarity of

the situation they just saw unfold.

The two then ceased laughing before enjoying the rest

of the night together; even as evening turned into the raising of the moon and partying faded into cleanup.

(which Sonic and Rainbow did in about 100 attoseconds, along with rebuilding the walls that took a few minutes to get the plans from Cadence.)

* * *

After which, Rainbow and Sonic then decided to

stay over at the Castle of Friendship because both of them were too tired to run any further.

As Sonic and Rainbow gottheir beds set up, Rainbow yawned and decided to ask Sonic something that piqued her

curiosity since their awkward meet up with Silver.

She nervously exhaled while preparing to ask, "Hey Sonic, if I ever did end up chasing you...

not in like the weird, creepy stalker way Amy does... but like, _really_ wanting to chase and run

and play with you. Would you run away from me?"

Sonic listened intently to Rainbow's whispered question. He could tell that this time, Rainbow

was genuinely concerned and being serious.

While he knew that they were friends; their love and devotion towards one another could rival

any dating couple.

In truth, Sonic deduced that Rainbow had a crush on Soarin _months_ before

he first saw Rainbow and Soarin together at the Skypad.

And seeing that Rainbow also saw Sonic as her best friend (and so much more; but

not "more" as in the stereotypical meaning of the word in such relationships), he knew what

Rainbow was really curious about here.

"Well, I wouldn't be running because I knew that it'd make my life miserable and I wouldn't wanna be around them from time to time.

I'd be running because I _want_ to see you catch me if you can. I wanna see you reach speeds even I wouldn't think are possible. And hey, from time

to time; I'd even be running _with_ you, just so we can keep running together." Sonic responded, thoughtfully.

"Really?" Rainbow asked, with quiet enthusiasm in her voice (as not to wake anyone else in Equestria

up.) Sonic chuckled, then winked. "You bet." he quietly affirmed.

Rainbow smiled as she heard the reassuring words of her friend. "Thanks, Sonic." Rainbow thanked him, with utmost gratitude.

"Anytime, Dash." Sonic yawned, then went straight to sleep. Rainbow took about 5 minutes, but also decided to sleep.

Both of them would have a big day tomorrow, as the contest was about to come down

to the very last shock of the thin, electric wire; but also, for other reasons that were beyond their control.

* * *

 _Well, that's it everybody. I'm obviously a little late to the party; but G4, FiM, Friendship is_

 _Magic is complete after 9 amazing seasons. (I'm not counting that peer-pressured "10th_

 _Season" from IDW). It has had an_ amazing _run, and I'm honestly looking forward to Gen 5. I_

 _know a lot of fans aren't going to be used to the changes; not at first, anyway._

 _But I know that it will be best for the fans as MLP will stick to its/their core values. No matter what._

 _There's also an MLP Movie coming out in 2021 apparently._

 _Whether it's a sequel that properly ends Gen 4 once and for all_

 _(highly doubt that because it's being made by Paramount, not Lionsgate); or one that actually_

 _opens up Gen 5, this movie is also another thing for many fans to look forward to in this time_

 _of transition._

* * *

 _In other news, admittingly, I have not been able to figure out how to see the results of my polls (that, or no one really voted)._

 _So I used the poll I made from Quoted (the other Fanfiction format this story is on.) and the results were a tie between_

 _Trixie and Autumn Blaze. Now, I_ did _get rid of this poll prematurely on here due to my lack of experience and know-how_

 _of operating/finding my results on these polls; but Silver_ will _be an important part to the sequel to this story, so I left that part of the_

 _story in there. As a set-up piece._

 _Speaking of set-ups, this story (along with_ "Determination of the Strong" _) will also be on FimFiction (basically Fanfiction for bronies)_

 _For those of you who read this from FimFiction, it is currently unknown when I will get the story up onto FimFiction; but I_ am _planning on having it_

 _on there sometime soon as of now._

* * *

 _Ok, that's it for now. I apologize for the_ **ABSURD** _chapter length here. This was the final chapter of "_ About Friendship" _and I wanted it to be perfect._

 _Thank you all so very much for joining me thus far, and if anypony/bronie/pegasister/body/whatever is just joining me; many great thanks to you as well._

 _To avoid confusion, I put the day numbers on Quotev for context. This is Day 3 for Sonic and Rainbow's challenge, in case anyone was wondering._

 _So next time, Sonic hangs around with the CMCs while Rainbow tries to get advice from an old friend about video ideas._

 _That's it for now my brethren and sisteren. Until next time..._

 _Keep On Loving, Keep On Edifying, and KEEEEEEEEEEEP LoveandEdifying._

 _But most importantly, just Keep On. Ok? The world might need you someday, so Keep On. So you'll be ready._

 _Bye! :-D :-D :-D_


	17. Thanksgiving Special? (Part 1)

_Hey everypony, LoveandEdify here. I just wanna with everyone a very Happy Holidays. And_

 _before you ask,_ YES _, I_ do _know that it's still November. But with the holiday season starting_

 _up, might as well cover it all now. With Thanksgiving coming up; there's something I want to_

 _know from all my followers. What are you all thankful for? I know, I know. Not the most_

 _exciting question in the world, but with all the high-speed, Sonic-Rainbooming, Discordian_

 _nonsense in this rushed up universe, I say that_ is _something we gotta take time to appreciate._

 _Like your home, your friends, your family, your electricity, your WiFi, your job that pays for all_

 _this, your body, your mind, hair, heat and air conditioning, kittens, Pepsi, pizza, puppies,_

 _Pinkies, hot chocolate and…_

 _*turns to see Pinkie Pie laying down on a large couch in the basement*_

 _Wait a sec. I'll be right with you. ;-) :-) :-D_

* * *

 _*goes to Pinkie*_

 _LoveandEdify: Hey Pinkie. Taking a nice little nap on the couch?_

 _Pinkie: Yeah. :-(_

 _LoveandEdify: Oh ok. Are you feeling alright, Pinkie?_

 _Pinkie *flatly*: Oh yeah, I'm fine._ "SO much" _for me to be thankful for. :-(_

 _LoveandEdify *concerned*: Are you sure? This doesn't sound like you at all._

 _LoveandEdify: I'm just gonna adjust the light in here a little bit. Can't really see anything that_

 _well in here. *proceeds to adjust light brightness in the basement* There we go. *walks to_

 _Pinkie*_

 _LoveandEdify: Now as I was… *gasps in shock* *sighs in realization* Well_

that _explains a lot. I couldn't really see you under the lamp because you're not your normal_

 _color and you're depressed when you're not your normal color and you're not happy which_

 _makes me not happy which makes me worried which…_

 _Pinkie *flatly*: Alright, we get it. Shut up!_

 _LoveandEdify: Wow. I was_ not _expecting a full-on role-reversal today. But, appareantly, there it_

 _is. What's wrong, Pinkie-Pie?_

 _Pinkie *depressed*: I don't really wanna talk about it. :-(_

 _LoveandEdify: Well alright then. I get that you don't wanna talk about it now, but if you ever_ do

 _feel like it, then you can always talk to…_

 _Pinkie *interrupting*: Why didn't you say yes to my message about hanging out in the castle_

 _last chapter?_

 _LoveandEdify *confused*: What are you talking about? If you go back to that chapter, it was_

 _Tails that sent me the invite. Not you._

 _Pinkie *confused*: Wait, you mean you didn't see me hiding underneath the window?_

 _LoveandEdify: No, I didn't bother checking because it was Tails flying a drone. He had his_

 _voice recording on it and everything._

 _Tails: Oh geez, I hope I didn't get here at a bad time._

 _LoveandEdify: Tails, what are you doing here?_

 _Tails: Trying to clear things up. I was out on a walk with Pinkie to come visit and check in on_

 _you, but you were already gone… where were you going, anyway?!_

 _LoveandEdify: Ironically enough, over to Twilight's. Just to visit and see how you two were_

 _doing._

 _Tails: Well, sorry to disappoint, then._

 _LoveandEdify: It's fine. I_ did _bump into Twilight and Rarity in there and they told me that you_

 _were hanging out with Pinkie today. I didn't count on your hangout leading…_

 _Pinkie *ticked*: WILL YOU GET TO THE POINT ALREADY?!_

 _Pinkie: *sighs* So_ that's _what it's like._

 _LoveandEdify: What_ what's _like?_

 _Tails: *clears throat* The point is, that you need to see who was actually_ flying _the drone._

 _LoveandEdify: Wait, so that_ wasn't _you, then?_

 _Tails: Here, let me show you this footage._

 _LoveandEdify: *holding the Miles Electric that Tails gave him* Ok, I'm watching your little_

 _video. Yeah, you're playing the message to me and I'm…_

 _Tails: Now switch the camera view to 3._

 _LoveandEdify *confused*: Uh, which button is that again?_

 _Tails: The green button on the lower left._

 _LoveandEdify: Thanks. Alright then, Angle 1, Angle 2, Angle 3… wait, is that… Pinkie?_

 _Tails: Yeah, just watch the footage, I'll explain later._

* * *

 _Flashback…_

* * *

 _Pinkie: Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Lovey Dovey and me are gonna have all_ kinds _of_

 _wonderfulious splendorific fun! Now let's see, how did Tails say to launch it towards the_

 _house? *launches drone towards window*_

 _Pinkie *whispering*: Ooooooooh, that voice sounds like Tails. Hi, Tails! :-D :-D :-D_

 _Pinkie *confused*: Wait, what's going on? That's not what I wanted to tell him! Wait, what's_

 _all that beeping going on?! Nononononononononono! Wait, why's the drone flying away?!_

 _Come baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!_

* * *

 _Flashback Ends…_

* * *

 _LoveandEdify: Wow. I really wish I would've known, or peeked out the window, or figured_

something _wasn't right here._

 _Tails: Hey, you wouldn't have known. It could've been my fault as well. I only_ gave _Pinkie the_

 _drone, I should've took the time to give her more clear instructions._

 _LoveandEdify (depressed): Yeah well it might as well have been my bad. *murmurs* Not_

 _noticing it._

 _Tails: Pal, come on! It's not like you were_ directly _responsible or that you intended to…_

 _LoveandEdify (angrily): WELL YOU WERE NEVER IN LOVE WITH HER, OK?! YOU_

 _NEVER TOOK SOME TIME IN BETWEEN WORK BEHIND THE SCENES TO GET TO_

 _KNOW HER, HAVE YOU?! AND AFTER ALL THAT TIME, WHERE I EVEN "PINKIE_

 _PROMISED" MYSELF WHERE I WOULDN'T MESS UP OR FLIP OFF OR WHATEVER IN_

 _FRONT OF HER, OK?! YOU WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW A (bleep)ING (bleep) THING_

 _ABOUT WHAT_ I'VE _GONE THROUGH HERE!_

 _*all is silent for a brief while before…*_

 _LoveandEdify (heartbroken): I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… to… *proceeds to abruptly leave*_

* * *

 _Happy Thanksgiving?_


	18. Thanksgiving Special: (Part 2)

_*turns on drone recorder*_

 _Is this thing on? Good. Hey everypony, LoveandEdify here. So sorry that things_

 _haven't been as good as they were expected to be. Had to make sure Deadpool didn't make_

 _too much of a mess of things when he came over_

 _to train for fighting The Mask, committing to various Fanfiction projects. And… oh yeah,_

 _dealing with my disappointment from the_ last _chapter. Anyhow, I'm currently on a silent snowy_

 _hillside up in Yakyakistan to reflect and think things over. And…_

 _Tails: Found him!_

 _LoveandEdify: *mutters* Oh great, here they come…_

 _Pinkie (anxious): DOVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!_

 _LoveandEdify: *mutters* Don't do the message 'cause Tails could track you,_ DON'T _do the_

 _message 'cause Tails could track you, and_ WHAT _do I…?! Ooof!_

 _*Pinkie proceeds to tackle LoveandEdify from behind*_

 _Pinkie (fearful and angered): You bet I did! And oh yeah, you put out your little inuendo out_

 _so that Tails and I could track you!_

 _LoveandEdify: *sighs* Pinkie-Pie, ladies and gents._

 _Tails: I-I'll leave you two alone for a bit. *proceeds to leave*_

 _LoveandEdify: So, what's go…_

 _Pinkie-Pie: WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?! YOU DON'T EVEN_

 _DESERVE TO HAVE ANY SAY IN ANY OF THIS, WHATSO EVER!_

 _*silence*_

 _Pinkie-Pie: *breaks down* At least until I tell you how_ I _feel! You have meant_ WAY _more to_

 _me than you_ EVER _thought you would mean to yourself! And I thought that you wouldn't_

 _care about me like that until you and Tails explained to me what was going on during that_

 _time. And I know that you weren't_ trying _to be inconsiderate; you just saw drone and thought_

' _drone', so I probably should've put my head up and waved or something, but I was too…_

 _t-too… afraid. *sobs for a couple minutes*_

 _Pinkie (after recovering from her tears): How did we get here, Lovey Dovey?_

 _LoveandEdify: *lets out a small smirk* I don't know, Pinkie-Pie; Do You Have 90 Minutes? ;-)_

 _*Pinkie turns her head to the ground, eyes closed…*_

 _LoveandEdify: Yeah, bad timing._

 _*a few minutes pass, the two of them sit in the snow togehter, yet with only their_

 _thoughts to keep them comapny… until… *_

 _*smooch*_

 _LoveandEdify: I love you, Pinkie-Pie. ;-) :-)_

 _Pinkie: *tears up happily* Y-you really mean that?!_

 _LoveandEdify: Of course I do, I mean… yes. I mean… Oh, hoofit; how do I…_

 _*kissing time…*_

 _Pinkie: *happy tears from her eyes* Don't say anything, Dovey. Just don't say_

 _anything…_

 _Tails: Uh, you know you two still have an outro to do, right?_

 _*Pinkie finally turns around to notice Tails and let's go of… oof! That hurt!*_

 _Pinkie: Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! TAILS! He finally said he LOVES ME! :-D_

 _:-D :-D *jumps up and down happily*_

 _LoveandEdify: Uh, Pinkie?! The outro?_

 _Pinkie: Oh yeah, riiiiiiiiiiight… I forgot. Uh, how does it go again?_

 _LoveandEdify: *smiles* Keep Loving…_

 _Tails: Keep Edifying…_

 _Pinkie: And KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP_

 _LoveandEdifying! *kisses LoveandEdify on the cheek* I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! :-D_

 _:-D :-D_

 _LoveandEdify: I love you too, Pinkie-Pie. :-)_

 _Happy Thanksgiving everyone. :-D :-D :-D_


	19. Thanksgiving Special: Conclusion

_Oh, you thought this chapter was over?! ;-)_

 _SIKE!_

* * *

 _(a few weeks after the last chapter, aka, today, November 27th, 2019)_

* * *

 _Pinkie Pie: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! How could he do this to him?!_

 _*crying*_

 _LoveandEdify: I'm sorry, Pinkie. There wasn't that much we could have done in the first_

 _place. He_ wanted _this fight._

 _Pinkie Pie: I know, but I didn't think that greeny meany masked-up guy would just_

 _wipe him out like this!_

 _LoveandEdify (somberly): I know how you feel, Pinkie. I really do. But… sometimes,_

 _even when we try our best to prepare for something like this, we only delay the_

 _inevitable. You were actually the one who taught me that._

 _Pinkie Pie: *sniffs* I know. But Deadpool's my best friend, and *sniffs* I know that you_

 _two have had your differences, but, you really liked him too, right?_

 _LoveandEdify: *sighs* Yeah. And we really_ did _strike up something great. Before…_

 _*door knocks*_

 _Pinkie Pie: Can you go get it? I'm not really feeling very Pinkie today. :-(_

 _LoveandEdify: Yeah, I'll get it._

* * *

 _Wait, what the…?!_

* * *

 _?: Ssssssssssssssmokin'! :-D :-D :-D_

 _LoveandEdify: Oh hey, Mask. Listen, I don't really think this is the…_ _Oh yeah, of course Mask is gonna ignore me and go straight in..._

 _Mask: Hey there Pinkie-pal. So sorry about your loss…_

* * *

 _Oh great, I better go break these two up…_

* * *

 _Pinkie: *angrily shaking The Mask*_

 _YOUREALLYSHOULDBEASHAMEDOFYOURSELF!_

 _DON'TYOUEVERTHINKOFTHECONSEQUENCESANDTHEPEOPLEYOUHURTEVE_

 _RYTIMEYOUDOTHESEMEANTHINGSYOUMEANIEMEANIEFACEDMONSTER?!_

 _*mutters* Oh yeah,_ you've _been one to talk sometimes…_

 _Mask: *blubbered* Bliut I wanted tya tyel you d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d…_

* * *

 _PINKIE, THAT'S ENOUGH!_

* * *

 _Pinkie: *turns to LoveandEdify and stops shaking The Mask*_

* * *

 _Put him down, let's hear what he has to say…_

* * *

 _Mask: Wooooooo, thanks. What I was_ trying _to say, is that Deadpool isn't really dead._

 _LoveandEdify_ and _Pinkie Pie: What?!_

 _Mask: Look, I never really wanted to do that Death Battle in the first place. I was_

 _having some fun in the Coco Bongo when Wiz and Boomstick showed up with this_

 _stupid contract for bazookillions $$$ if I won this thing, but I didn't know that they_

 _wanted me to_ kill _him!_

 _LoveandEdify: It's called a_ Death _Battle for a reas… hey, wait a minute, that's the_

same _contract Wiz and Boomstick mailed me_ and _Pinkie_ _to deliver to Deadpool!_

 _Mask: Long story short, I was about to go through with it; but sometimes people only_

 _pay attention to what's on the screen, when they should pay attention to what goes on_

behind the scenes _!_

 _Pinkie: What do you mean?_

 _Mask: Well, you_ saw _the part where DP and I were trying to earn money to fix our_

 _animation, right? Well, what you_ didn't _see was THIS!_

* * *

 _*pulls out a small camcorder_ _out of his pockets, enlarges the dang thing, and turns it into a movie thea… oh no, not_

 _again!*_

* * *

 _*house explodes*_

* * *

 _I am_ never _gonna catch a break with my house, am I?_

* * *

 _Mask: Hey, just pay attention to the footage…_

* * *

 _A few hours ago… At Coco Bongo…_

* * *

 _DP: You know what, Mask? I really_ do _love being in Death Battle. The carnage, the chaos,_

 _my two work besties who are trying to kill me all the time…_

 _Mask: Oh you_ said _it, DP! I think we've had all_ sorts _of fun on this adventure!_

 _DP: Yeah, but… *sighs* can I be honest with you for a sec?_

 _Mask: Hey, let me lend you so ears… *fishes and finds corn, rabbit ears, a tv antenna,_

 _Mickey-Mouse ears, an engineer (oh, I get it)...* You know what, the ones on my head_

 _are gonna have to do, so I'm gonna give ya those, ok?_

* * *

 _*... I'm just gonna let the reader interpret that however they'd like here*_

* * *

 _DP: Honestly, I'm just scared of having to go back out there again. I'm just a_

 _regenerative degenerate and you're basically a cartoon god. Wiz and Boomstick would_

 _probably say that afterwards too. I'd never be able to see them, Pinkie-Pie,_

 _LoveandEdify… are you crying right now?_

 _Mask: *sobs* No, just got water in my eyes! Come here you son of a gun! *hugs_

 _DP*_

 _DP: Uh, maybe before you tell me how you really feel; maybe you should, I don't_

 _know… clean up the flood from inside the restaraunt._

 _Mask: *pulls out a handkerchief that sucks up the flooded water that's been dampening_

 _the restauraunt…* I wish I had more friends like you, DP… well, more like me, but_

 _you're… you know what I mean, right?_

 _DP: Yeah, but we still gotta go through with it, right?_

 _Mask: *gets happy again* Say, what if we_ did _go through with it; and you_ could _still be_

 _alive to see your friends so that I, er I mean,_ nobody _would have to miss you?!_

 _DP: *smirks underneath_ his _mask* Oh I'm listening, my Bigheaded friend…_

* * *

 _*recording stops*_

* * *

 _Mask: So basically, I hit a time pause within the real-world time dimension in Death_

 _Battle land and we got everything arranged so quick that a few hours of us getting our_

 _plan ready was just a total blip in real time!_

 _LoveandEdify: Ok, so you_ did _plan all of this. :-)_

 _Mask: Well, me and Deadpool, really. From what I heard, you're a real stud; Lovey_

 _Dovey!_

 _LoveyDovey: Oh yeah, is that gonna be my new hea…._

* * *

 _Seriously?_

* * *

 _Mask: Well, look at the time… gotta go deliver a letter to Wiz and Boomstick! Catcha_

 _later, friends! :-D :-D :-D_

* * *

 _PSA: If you've already seen the Death Battle episode of Deadpool vs. Mask, then go ahead_

 _and read on. If you haven't yet, make sure you search up Death Battle: Deadpool vs._

 _Mask on YouTube_ before _reading further in this chapter…_

* * *

 _A few minutes later… (right after the Mask declares himself winner and his and DP's_

 _plan is finished)_

* * *

 _LoveyDovey: Hey Pinkie, your phone's ringing!_

 _Pinkie: …_

 _LoveyDovey: Eh, I'll just answer it for ya. Hello? Oh no way! How're you doing, DP?_

 _Uhuh? Yeah, he showed up. Yeah, he was really nice about it. Yeah, glad to see you_

 _make some new friends! :-D :-D :-D Yeah, she's here._

 _LoveyDovey: *shouts* Hey Pinkie, it's for you!_

 _Pinkie: Dovey, if this is some prank to make me feel better, then just can it, ok?_

 _LoveyDovey: Uh, this isn't a prank th…_

 _Pinkie: Look, I appreciate the effort, really, I do. But he's gone, ok? :-( :-(_

 _LoveyDovey: Ok, I get where you're coming from, but could you at least talk to_

 _whoever's on the phone? They're wanting to talk to you, ok?_

 _Pinkie: *sighs* Alright, I'll go along with it to make you feel better. *takes phone* Even_

 _though it_ is _a dumb prank._

 _?: Well if_ this _is a prank, then I'm not_ really _taking me and my new friends over to_

 _LoveandEdify's for Thanksgiving dinner. ;-)_

 _Pinkie: *teared-up* Deadpool?_

 _Deadpool: *Popping out of the phone screen* Who'd you think it was, a Ryan Reynolds-knockoff?_

* * *

 _Oh no, Pinkie's_ literally _gonna be…_

 _*BOOM*_

* * *

… _exploding with happiness. Ok, for real, how do I even_ survive _being in the center of_

 _these things?! Do_ I _have a Toon Force I don't even know about?_

* * *

 _?: Uh, what's going on here?!_

 _?: Oh great,_ now _you've done it! We're here in the middle of (bleep)ing Ponyville for…_

 _Mask: A dyno-miiiiiiiite Thanksgiving feast? ;-)_

 _DP: Yeah, right this way, monsieurs. I know they're one of your sponsors and_

 _everything; but I'm getting_ really _sick of Blue Apron!_

 _Pinkie: Wiz and Boomstick?! Greenface?!_

 _Mask: Ooooooooh, *smiles and hugs Pinkie*_ THAT'S _a new one! :-D :-D :-D :-D *lets_

 _her go and helps set up the feast*_

 _Pinkie: Deadpool?!_

 _Deadpool: The One, Alive, and Only! :-D :-D :-D_

 _*Pinkie and Deadpool hug out of joy for seeing each other again*_

 _Pinkie: What are you all doing here?_

 _Wiz: Uh, I guess we're gonna be having Thanksgiving Dinner here. :-)_

 _Boomstick: I'm just hoping that you're not planning on turning our blood into_

 _cupcakes or anything like that._

 _Pinkie: WHAT?!_

 _Deadpool: It's an old fanfiction that some (bleep)hole wrote to…_

 _Pinkie: I know about_ that _, but I'd never ever ever ever_ ever _even think about doing that_

 _disgusting, mean or brutal to_ any _one of my friends._

 _Wiz: Don't look at me, I never made that assumption._

 _LoveyDovey: Ah, Wiz and Boomstick;_ huge _fan. Nice to finally meet you. *shakes Wiz_

 _and Boomstick's hands*_

 _Wiz: Nice to meet you, LoveandEdify. :-)_

 _Boomstick: The pleasure is mine._

 _Wiz: There's just one more thing. Why do you never reveal your real name here?_

 _Boomstick: Yeah, i was wonderin' the same thing._

 _LoveyDovey: To keep my identity safe on here._

 _Wiz: Ah, gotcha. ;-)_

 _Pinkie: Well, what are we waiting for?! LET"S PARRRRRRRRTY! :-D :-D :-D_

 _Mask: P-A-R-T…_

 _DP: Y?_

 _All: 'Cause we_ GOTTA! :-D :-D :-D

* * *

 _*Deadpool, Mask, and Pinkie work together to help repair the house, make Wiz and_

 _Boomstick comfortable; and soon enough, an amazing, delicious, wholesome_

 _Thanksgiving dinner is prepared…_

* * *

 _Deadpool: So yeah, Wiz, Boomstick… I really_ did _mean what I wrote in the letter. But_

 _just know I'm still gonna be the amazing, awesome, 4th-wall breaking guy I am. Just,_

 _trying to be a better version of that. Hey Wiz, can you pass the cranberry sauce?_

* * *

 _Meanwhile, at Mask and Pinkie's side of the table_

* * *

 _Pinkie: Thank you so_ very _much for getting us all together!_

 _Mask: Anything for a friend, little lady. Shall we dance?_

* * *

 _Ok, I'm not even gonna_ ask _where that music is coming from…_

* * *

 _Boomstick: I just don't get it… you have Pinkie-Pie annoy the living bajeebers out of_

 _you while you're writing this fanfic, Deadpool pretty much does_ nothing _to help,_

 _Jim Carrey shows up, and you keep rolling with the punches like it's_ nothing! _How in_

 _the (bleep) do you do it?!_

 _Wiz: Yeah, I've been wondering that too._

 _DP: Oh Mask, Pinkie! It's Popcorn time! :-D :-D :-D_

 _LoveandEdify: Well, honestly; I would've reacted the same way you would havea_

 _couple of months ago. I would've been schemeing a way to control things and make_

 _sure that everything fit in this perfect little space of mine to the point where it was my_

 _every thought and motive. But then I realized that life wasn't about fitting things into a_

 _perfect plan (although planning and thinking ahead_ are _extremely important); but_

 _embracing the changes life has to offer so you can grown, learn and enjoy life to the_

 _fullest. Sure, they can be crazy, inconvienient, and even break apart your reality. But_

 _considering how little we'd know if we just stayed content with what we're used to;_

 _would we_ really _not need a little chaos to wake us up every once in a while? To make_

 _us realize that maybe, just maybe, there is a reason behind the chaos. And_ that _is_

 _something to_ really _be thankful for._

 _Wiz: Boomstick, are you crying?_

 _Boomstick: *trying to fight back tears* I'm not crying, Wiz! You're crying!_

 _LoveandEdify: Awe…_

 _LoveandEdify: Well everyone, this has been so much fun; and I really hope that you all_

 _have a Happy Thanksgiving with your families as well. And as always…_

 _All: Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep LoveandEdifying, and have a Happy_

 _Thanksgiving! :-D :-D :-D_


End file.
